At least 56 people have been killed, nearly 200,000 are homeless and more than 11,000 homes have been destroyed by floods since the start of the rainy season in May, country’s interior ministry reported Tuesday, September 19, 2017. The hardest hit is capital Niamey along with Dosso in the south. A humanitarian source told AFP last week that exacerbating the problems were rising River Niger water
levels, leading to fears of a repeat of serious flooding in 2012 which left dozens dead and some 500,000 homeless. Food production will also take a hit, with the flooding killing some 16,000 cattle and about 12 000 hectares (30,000 acres) of crops being ruined, according to UNOCHA. Last week, Niger said it had launched a campaign to destroy mosquito breeding sites to help combat the spread of deadly malaria in Niamey after the rain transformed some areas into swamps. READ MORE
