West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (27 August – 2 September 2019)

CHAD

FLOODS HIT THE NORTH

On 23 August, heavy rains and ensuing floods in Kalait, Ennedi West, destroyed houses, vehicles, food, crops and killed large amounts of cattle. Seven people lost their lives, including two women.
Local authorities reported that 400 houses were destroyed and 370 others damaged in Kalait. Two weeks of flooding have reportedly split the town in two, affecting 8,775 people. In the town of Fada, also in Ennedi West, the floods destroyed 240 houses and damaged 400 others, affecting 3,200 people. Affected families are reportedly sleeping outside, without access to shelter, food or clothes and are at risk of contracting malaria and water-borne diseases. The government has set up response committees and, given the scale of needs, requested support from the humanitarian community.

NIGERIA

ATTACKS TRIGGER NEW DISPLACEMENTS

According to the latest IOM Emergency Tracking Tool, more than 5,600 new displacements were recorded across locations in Borno and Adamawa states between 19 and 25 August. At least 74 per cent of the new displacements were triggered by the surge of armed groups’ attacks targeting civilians, particularly in Borno state, forcing some 5,179 people to flee their homes and communities. The newly displaced populations have moved to camps in neighbouring towns and Maiduguri, the capital, where overstretched facilities and lean resources are hardly able to support the influx.

NIGER

NEW DISPLACEMENTS IN DIFFA

Over the month of July, 1,846 people have fled to Diffa following armed groups’ attacks in the communes of Gueskerou, Toumour and Bosso, in southeastern Niger, according to UNHCR. In addition, 66 abductions have been registered in the region of Diffa, in July, 80 per cent of them in the communes of Toumour and Bosso. The number of civilian victims in 2019 is the highest registered since the outbreak of the security crisis in 2015, with more than 200 deaths and over 200 abductions.

FLOODING KILLS 42 PEOPLE

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.
During the rainy season in 2018, floods affected 208,000 people.