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A wave of deadly flooding across West and Central Africa has left human bodies alongside the remains of crocodiles and snakes, with more than 1,000 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Chad, Nigeria, Mali, and Niger have been especially hard-hit, with over four million people affected by floods this year, a threefold increase from 2023, according to the United Nations.
According to New York Post, in Nigeria alone, at least 230 people have died, while Niger recorded 265 deaths, Chad 487, and Mali 55 in its worst flooding since the 1960s.
One of the hardest-hit areas is Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno State.
Resident Saleh Bukar, 28, described waking up to neighbors yelling, “Water is flooding everywhere!” Some elderly and disabled residents were left behind, and many who did not escape in time drowned.
Aishatu Ba’agana, a mother of three, was forced to abandon her newborn as floodwaters overtook her home.
“I yelled for my family to help, but I don’t know if they were able to. I haven’t seen them since,” she said.
Local authorities reported that 15 percent of Maiduguri remains underwater, with forecasts predicting more rain.
The flooding has displaced at least 600,000 people, killed 100, and injured 58 in Borno alone.
The disaster also led to the escape of hundreds of prisoners and 80 percent of animals at the Borno State Museum Park.
Dam failures, including one at Lake Alau, released 540 billion liters of water, collapsing key infrastructure and turning Maiduguri into a river.
Gov. Babagana Zulum had appealed for international assistance, saying, “Our resources are stretched to the limit, and we cannot do this alone.”
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