Heavy rains in Chad kill 341 people and affect 1.5 million others

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad reported that the heavy rains that the country has witnessed since last July have killed 341 people and affected 1.5 million others. The office explained in its report that "all 23 provinces of the country are currently suffering from the recurring flood crisis in recent years," adding that "the Chadian government and its partners have counted the destruction of more than 164,000 homes and 259,000 hectares of fields, in addition to the death of 66,700 heads of livestock." While the Chadian government has not yet released comprehensive statistics on the impact of the floods, 14 students and their teacher were killed last week when a school collapsed in the Ouaddai province in the east of the country due to heavy rains. Tibesti province in the far north of Chad's desert also witnessed floods in mid-August, resulting in the death of at least 54 people. For his part, Idriss Abdullah Hassan, director of the climate monitorin g and forecasting network at the National Meteorological Agency, indicated that the annual rainfall level in the mountainous Tibesti region is usually less than 200 mm, stressing that this climate phenomenon occurs every five to ten years. Last week, the United Nations warned of the serious effects of heavy rains and floods in the region, calling for 'immediate action and adequate funding' to address the climate crisis. In a related context, more than 700,000 people were affected by floods in South Sudan, according to statistics published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on September 5. Source: National Iraqi News Agency