At Least 94 Dead and Over 137,000 Displaced by Floods in Niger – Humanitarian Minister

At least 94 people have died and more than 137,000 have been affected by floods following heavy rains that hit Niger since June, the country’s Minister of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management, Aïssa Lawan Wandarma announced on Friday.

The authorities in Niger reported 137,156 people affected, 93 injured, and “unfortunately, 94 losses of human life, including 44 due to drowning and 50 due to house collapses,” Wandarma explained during a press conference.

An earlier report by the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, dated July 15, indicatex 53 deaths and 18,000 victims.

The report also stated that more than 247,000 people are at risk before the rainy season ends in September.

The capital Niamey, recently has been hit by the flood  leading up to four people losing their life, with several injured, according to the Interior Ministry.

Many power cuts were reported as a result of the flooding which has damaged electrical substations, the Nigerien electricity company, Nigelec said.

All eight regions of the country are now affected, particularly in the regions of Maradi, in the south-central area of the country, Zinder, in the east-central and Tahoua, in the west.

The minister also said she feared ” a shortage of drinking water ” in the hardest-hit areas and the spread of diseases including “malaria, bilharzia and cholera.”

According to the minister, over 15,000 homes and about forty classrooms were destroyed in the country, with “15,472 herds of livestock.” Decimated; livestock farming forms one of the mainstays of the economy.

The Minister of Transport, Colonel Salissou Mahaman, complained that the waters had cut off roads and bridges, including the desert area of Agadez, north of the country.

The national meteorological service is forecasting heavy rainfall in the month of August—the month with the most rainfall in the country.

Authorities have began sending text messages to residents urging them to “stay in shelters”, “secure livestock” and call emergency services on a toll-free number in case of emergency in a bid to minimise the number of injuries and properties destroyed.

Despite the floods and it’s impact on economic activities, Niger remains the fastest growing economy in Africa with an 11.2 per cent growth rate in 2024.

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