Niger floods claim 53 lives, leave 18,000 affected

Flooding caused by heavy rains lashing Niger since June has killed 53 people and impacted 18,000, as the West African country grapples with the effects of climate change, a UN agency announced on Wednesday.

An earlier interior ministry toll published on June 20 recorded 21 deaths and nearly 6,000 people affected nationwide.

As of July 15, the floods had claimed 53 lives, impacting 2,501 households and a total of 18,098 people, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday.

Floodwaters also destroyed 1,636 homes, 29 classrooms, and killed 10,930 livestock, the agency said, citing the Niger Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management.

OCHA warned that more than 247,000 people could be affected by the floods before the end of the rainy season, which typically concludes in late September.

It added that the UN International Children's Emergency Fund, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and the Red Cross will support the Nigerien government by mobilizing food stocks, emergency shelter and hygiene kits in the areas most severely impacted by the worsening weather conditions.

"Exacerbated by global climate change, flooding is a recurring threat in Niger," the UN agency said.

According to Nigerien authorities, nearly every region of the country has been affected, with the south-central region of Maradi particularly hard-hit. 

But the capital Niamey and its two million inhabitants, often struck by deadly floods, have been spared thus far.

To mitigate the effects on the population, authorities have been sending text messages urging people to stay sheltered, secure livestock, and to call a toll-free emergency number.

The rainy season in Niger, spanning from June to September, regularly results in fatalities, even in the country's typically dry desert regions. Floods were particularly deadly in 2022, causing 195 deaths and affecting 400,000 people.

(Cover: A person stands in the flood water. /CFP)