Mindelo, Cabo Verde, Aug. 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Six days after a storm that left nine people dead on the Cabo Verde island of São Vicente, Jéssica Lopes is trying to come to terms with the loss of her belongings and the difficulty of ensuring what to eat, after having paid almost twice as much for rice.
"We lost everything. Clothes, furniture, food. We have to put our natress out in the sun every day so we can sleep, but we have no bed linen, no electricity, no water, and cooking has become a big challenge," Jéssica Lopes, 32, told Lusa, sitting outside her house, surrounded by mud, damaged furniture and plastic swept away by the torrent.
With two children, aged 14 and 3, Jéssica, who lives in Praça Estrela, says that ‘the hardest thing is to forget the event and move on after years of achievement’.
"The rice that cost 100 escudos I've already bought for 150 [€0.91 and €1.36]. We bought it because we had no choice. Other products like oil may go up. My husband works, but we have a basic salary, and I'm unemployed," she laments, adding that she fears illness due to the accumulation of rainwater.
"There are puddles of water on the doorstep, mud everywhere. We neighbours have already cleaned up, but I can't sleep peacefully with all this," she added.
Erickson Coronel, 28, a taxi driver, also reports that prices have already started to rise, such as 0.5 litre water, which has gone from 45 to 80 escudos [€0.41 to €0.73].
‘It's almost double, I could have bought two bottles, but I understand the situation and I'm not complaining,’ he explained, adding that the circulation of vehicles is also limited due to the damaged roads.
In the shops, there is ‘a lot of demand for basic products’.
Leinira Dias, 34, who owns a mini-market, describes the rush for beans, pasta, water and toiletries: ‘The challenge now is to stock up and meet demand,’ she says, explaining that some products from other islands are already going up in price, such as cheese, potatoes and carrots.
Maitê Lima, 23, works in another minimarket and says that, after reopening on Tuesday, sales are busier than usual, but there has been no change in prices yet.
‘Water, bread and biscuits are being bought in large quantities, especially by those who are going to hand them out to people, also because some shops haven't opened yet due to the damage,’ she explains.
Nilza Xalino, 49, who runs a mini-market, says that despite having suffered ‘huge losses’ at home and in the shop, the establishment has remained intact and is seeing high demand for basic products, but is keeping prices more affordable, aware of the situation of those who have also lost everything.
Lusa tried to get clarification from the Chamber of Commerce about the rise in prices and the situation in the shops, but has received no response so far.
The floods on Monday left neighbourhoods flooded, destroyed roads and bridges and affected the power supply, and one person is still unaccounted for.
Cabo Verde's government has declared a state of calamity for six months in São Vicente, Porto Novo (Santo Antão) and the two municipalities of São Nicolau.
In addition, a strategic response plan has been announced that includes emergency support for families, but also for economic activities, with credit lines with subsidised interest and non-repayable funds, justifying the decision with the ‘dramatic, exceptional situation’.
The government will use the resources of the National Emergency Fund, created in 2019 precisely to respond to natural disasters or the impact of external economic shocks.
A Portuguese Navy ship docked in São Vicente on Friday with 56 military personnel, rubble removal equipment, a desalination plant for the hospital and drones to collect aerial images in hard-to-reach areas, as well as divers and teams prepared to support the population.
Countries such as Timor-Leste, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe have already shown solidarity.
RS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
