After a period of long dry weather, this year’s rains have come with devastating impact.

In the largely desert nation of Chad, the advent of the rainy season is a period of joy and much concern at the same time. While the often torrential rains bring relief to may who have coped with nearly-unbearable temperatures for several months, they also pose other problems of floods and risks of disease infection.

So is the case this year with residents of the capital, N’Djamena, where the return of rains last month has been causing untold havoc in various homes. Reports say well-to-do inhabitants have been using pumping machines to flush out rain water from their homes and courtyards. Those who cannot afford it resort to using buckets to scoop out water. One resident recalled how his family had to spend the whole night standing in their flooded home while waiting for dawn to see what to do.

While others blame construction works in the capital and the alleged shallowness of gutters for the situation, experts say greater efforts are needed to put a definite end to the problem. For example, they suggest the construction of canals or artificial river beds to create enough space for gushing rain water to go through the city without causing any destruction. Until this is done, they warn, the problem will continue as part of N’Djamena is constructed on low-lying former swampy areas on the banks of River Chari.

It would be recalled that rains stopped falling in the country by the middle of last month, raising fears of interruptions in the farming season.  Moslem and Christian leaders then organised regular prayer sessions for a quick return of rains. Abdelkader Altidjani Koiboro, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said the situation was noticed since last May.