At least 47 people have lost their lives in Niger after relentless rains unleashed floods that drowned villages and fractured fragile homes. Authorities confirmed more than 56,000 residents have been forced from their communities, left to seek refuge in makeshift shelters amid rising despair.
The General Directorate of Civil Protection said the deluge battered 339 neighbourhoods and villages, leaving 7,754 households shattered by its destructive reach. Officials reported that 30 people perished when their houses collapsed, while 17 drowned in swollen waters, with 70 others injured in the chaos.
The same disaster swept away livelihoods, killing 257 head of cattle, striking at the heart of already fragile rural economies. In response, Niger’s flood prevention committee announced the distribution of emergency food aid, with 3,776 families identified as immediate beneficiaries.
The government pledged 12 billion CFA francs, or $21.3 million, to support recovery efforts and deliver relief across the worst-affected regions. Flooding has become one of humanity’s fiercest natural adversaries, with Africa enduring sharper devastation as climate change transforms rainfall into sudden, violent torrents.
Last year, torrential downpours uprooted nearly 1.5 million Nigeriens across all eight regions, leaving scars that remain fresh in collective memory. Today’s tragedy underscores how the changing climate no longer whispers warnings but roars through storms, rivers, and skies, leaving shattered homes in its path.
