Chad has been paying a heavy price for flooding for the past month and a half. The latest report given on Friday, September 13 by the authorities and the United Nations (UN) shows 487 deaths recorded, 146 more in one week.
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The toll of the floods in Chad continues to swell: 487 deaths, nearly 1.7 million people affected, 200,000 homes destroyed and 66,000 livestock lost, a significant figure in a country where livestock farming is a central economic and social activity. According to the National Committee for Flood Prevention and Management, 117 out of 120 departments are victims of these floods.
The most affected province in terms of people affected is the Lac region. But the human toll is especially heavy in the southern regions of the country, particularly in Logone-Oriental and Mayo-Kebbi (in the west) as well as in Ouaddaï and Wadi-Fira (in the east). In these regions, the populations were surprised by the very heavy rainfall to which they are neither accustomed nor prepared, an expert from theUN.
Last week, the UN deemed a response plan worth US$97 million necessary. But just under 10% of that sum was available, which is largely insufficient to help the victims, especially as the rainfall has continued in recent days, raising fears of even greater flooding of the country’s main rivers.
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