Niger: Floods - Aug 2019
Rainfall since June has provoked flooding in several localities, killing 42 people. The number of victims has dramatically increased during the last week of August, when the waters of the Niger basin have reached the flood stage. According to the authorities, the floods so far have destroyed 5,497 homes and affected the lives of 66,464 people. The National Forecast Agency estimates that the waters will continue rising over the next days due to heavy rains in the Niger basin and the overload of dams in Burkina Faso and Mali. (OCHA, 3 Sep 2019)
Together with UNICEF and Niger’s General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC), IOM this week has distributed over 500 non-food item (NFI) kits, including 250 tarpaulins, to households affected by floods in Dosso (285), Tillabéri (77) and Maradi (150). This assistance followed requests from the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management (MAHGC) in Niger, the Shelter and NFI Working Group urgently convened and assessed the risk levels, needs and costs, and responded quickly and appropriately. (IOM, 13 Sep 2019)
More than 211,000 affected people, 57 dead and 16,375 houses after the recent floods. Three regions account for 67% of the affected population: Maradi, Zinder and Agadez. (OCHA, 26 Sep 2019)
An estimated 123,000 children have been affected by the flooding. They are of course most vulnerable to respiratory infections and water-borne disease. (UNICEF, 27 Sep 2019)