West and Central Africa: Flooding Situation Overview - as of 15 August 2024

FLOODING SITUATION OVERVIEW

The forecasts for the 2024 season are corroborated to date and the damage is starting to emerge barely two months after the start of the 2024 rainy season in the region. Torrential rains and severe flooding have affected more than 716,000 people in Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Togo. This number exceeds the cumulative number of last year at the same time or even that of September 2023. As of 13 August, at least 72 people have reportedly died due to floods and 699 others have been injured. Of the 9 countries concerned, Chad (37 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (28 per cent) and Nigeria (20 per cent) are most affected. Because of heavy rainfall, more than 54,700 persons have been internally displaced in four countries.

Floods also severely damaged livelihoods and basic social services: more than 62,000 homes were destroyed or damaged in eight countries, double the number of previous months. Flooding affected 10 health facilities and 55 schools.

Between 15 July and 15 August, 24,000 hectares of additional agricultural land were affected, making a total area of 26,000 ha impassable for agricultural and livestock production. In addition, an estimated 4,205 heads of cattle have been swept away by the floods. This is likely to have a catastrophic effect on agricultural production and in turn on the food and nutrition security of the population and will increase the resource requirements for the humanitarian response.

It should be noted that these figures are likely to increase with the integration of data from Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone where alerts have been reported, but official data were not available to date.

According to meteorological forecasts, flooding during the 2024 rainy season in West and Central Africa is likely to exceed that of previous years, thus exacerbating the situation of the populations if no intervention is carried out effectively and in a coordinated manner.

In view of these forecasts, prevention and mitigation measures are crucial to mitigate the impact of climate events, in densely populated areas. In addition, anticipatory actions initiated in several countries are essential to mitigate the impact and relieve the affected populations. These actions require immediate action and substantial funding.