West and Central Africa: Flooding Situation Overview - as of 5 October 2024

FLOODING SITUATION OVERVIEW

Torrential rains and severe flooding have affected nearly 6.6 million people in West and Central Africa so far in 2024. This figure already exceeds last year’s total for the region across the entire year by more than 40 per cent.

In 2024, out of 16 countries that have been hit by flooding, the most affected ones are Chad with 1.9 million affected people, followed by Niger with 1.3 million, Nigeria with 1.2 million and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 1.1 million. Cameroon, Mali and Guinea have a combined total of over 800,000 affected people. As of 5 October, more than 979,000 people have been internally displaced due to flooding in eleven countries, notably Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Mali, the Central African Republic. Floods have also severely affected livelihoods and access to basic social services. More than 601,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. Flooding also affected 555 schools and 169 health
facilities.

In the last two weeks alone, nearly 2.2 million people were affected in the region. The heavy rains during this period impacted eight countries, with six experiencing population displacement and seven having houses destroyed or damaged. In addition 413 people were reported dead and 1,129 injured, bringing the totals for the year to date to 1,463 and 4,351, respectively. Furthermore, more than 221,000 hectares of agricultural land were affected, bringing the total area unsuitable for agricultural and livestock production to about 720,000 hectares. An estimated 16,000 head of cattle were also swept away by the floods during this period, raising the total to approximately 120,000 for the year to date.

Overall, the number of people affected and the impact on agricultural production, and therefore on the food and nutrition security of vulnerable communities, have far exceeded those of previous years. The humanitarian situation will deteriorate unless effective action is taken. Humanitarian partners and governments have already issued several alerts with the aim of meeting the needs of affected people.