By Agencies

Commuters wade through floodwater in Monrovia and traffic jams witnessed due to unexpected torrential rain.

Torrential rain has lashed the west coast of Africa, leaving parts of Liberian capital Monrovia under water.

The flooded streets witnessed long traffic jams, a number of rickshaws broke down and pedestrians were forced to wade through the floodwater.

The rain also caused flooding of several houses.

The worst affected are those living on wetlands, something which is prohibited by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Locals said that the constant dumping of rubbish and plastic waste in drains likely to have exacerbated the flooding.

Monrovia was not the only place to experience torrential rain. An airport in Grand Bassa, south of the capital, reported 360mm of rain in 24 hours - roughly the amount that is expected in the entire month of August.

Liberia has two wet seasons, which run very close together, one as the rains move north and a second as it moves south again.

The wettest months are June and July, and September and October.

August, generally, is a slightly drier month.

This year, however, heavy rain has been witnessed in August and locals fear more flooding in the coming months.