 Nations of West Africa | |
| Location | Niger, Ghana |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 21+ |
| Non-fatal injuries | 26+ |
| Property damage | >US$ 2 million, 4,000 cattle dead, 200+ houses damaged or destroyed |
| Displaced | 8,000+ |
In 2024, heavy rainfall impacted several nations across West Africa, including Niger and Ghana. The rainy season in West Africa lasts from June to September, with June alone producing prolonged deadly and damaging floods. [1]
Up to 21 June 2024, 21 citizens in Niger died as a result of heavy rains causing extensive flooding primarily in the Maradi region and Niamey suburbs. Over 6,000 others were affected by the flooding. Niger's director-general of civil protection Colonel Boubacar Bak reported on national television that 13 of the deceased were victims of their houses collapsing, while eight more were victims of drowning. [1] The Maradi region in central Niger accounted for 14 of the 21 deaths. 26 people were injured and roughly 4,000 cattle were killed or lost. [2]
In early June 2024, Over 2,000 people living in the Central region of Ghana were displaced by increased water levels of the Ayensu River due to heavy rains and diversion of the river to work on an expansion to the Kasoa-Winneba highway. Over 200 homes were submerged and three collapsed, and several acres of farmland were destroyed. [3]
In addition, the heavy rainfall caused West Africa's largest vegetable garden at Maphlix Trust Farms in Tadzewu, Ketu North Municipality, Volta Region, to flood, destroying over US$ 2 million in vegetable produce and architectural infrastructure, including 27 specialized greenhouses, fertigation tanks, and administrative buildings. 30 acres of okra, 15 acres of chili, 10 acres of sweet potato, and 55 acres of installed irrigation were submerged or swept away by the floodwaters. Over 800 bags of fertilizers and farming items were lost. [4] [5]
Ghana is a West African country in Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea.
The wet season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics.
Madaoua is a town and urban commune located in the Tahoua Region of Niger. It has a population of 127,254. It is seat of the Madaoua Department, forming the southwest corner of the Region, and is an Urban Commune.
Ogbaru is a local government area in Anambra State, south-central Nigeria. The area's local government headquarters is in the port city of Atani.
The 2009 West Africa floods are a natural disaster that began in June 2009 as a consequence of exceptionally heavy seasonal rainfall in large areas of West Africa. Several rivers, including the Pendjari, Niger, Volta and Senegal rivers, broke their banks, causing destruction of houses, bridges, roads and crops. The floods are reported to have affected 940,000 people across 12 countries, including Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, and caused the deaths of at least 193 people. In Burkina Faso, one of the most affected countries, 150,000 people fled their homes, mostly in the capital Ouagadougou where rainfall in one day was equal to 25% of normal annual rainfall for the whole country.
A large-scale, drought-induced famine occurred in Africa's Sahel region and many parts of the neighbouring Sénégal River Area from February to August 2010. It is one of many famines to have hit the region in recent times.
The 2010 Nigerien floods were floods across Niger which left over 111,000 people homeless. Niger was already suffering acute food shortages following prolonged drought in the Sahel region. As of 24 August 2010, at least 6 to 8 people had died. The Niger river was pushed to its highest levels in 80 years. The floods subsequently spread along the River Niger into Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin over the next few months. Later storms also brewed up in the CAR, Morocco and northern Algeria.
The 1970 Caribbean–Azores hurricane was an unnamed Atlantic hurricane that became the wettest known tropical cyclone on record to affect the United States territory of Puerto Rico. The long-lived system formed on September 24 just off the west coast of Africa, and for several days maintained a general westward track. It passed through the Lesser Antilles on October 1, and later stalled in the eastern Caribbean Sea. On October 8, the depression crossed over the Dominican Republic, and subsequently it accelerated to the northeast. It was declassified as a tropical cyclone on October 12, although its remnants persisted for another week before dissipating in the westerlies near the Azores.
Heavy rains during the months of June, July and August 2016 resulted in extreme flooding of various rivers throughout Niger, particularly the Niger River, where the floods caused material damage and loss of life in Niger and other countries along the river's path.
The 2018 East Africa Floods were a natural disaster in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia, Djibouti, and Burundi affecting millions of people. They began when excessive rains began falling in March 2018 following a year of severe drought, leading to massive flooding, landslides, and the failure and overflow of several dams. Record rainfall was recorded in several areas, surpassing various records set during the 1950s and during the 1997–98 El Niño event. Nearly 500 people have lost their lives while hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced.
Tropical Storm Rumbia was a rather weak but very destructive tropical cyclone that caused widespread and disastrous flooding in East China in August 2018. The twenty-second officially recognized tropical cyclone of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season, Rumbia developed from an area of low pressure that developed southeast of the Ryukyu Islands on August 13. Favorable environmental conditions supported development of the low into a tropical depression by August 15. At 12:00 UTC that day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Rumbia, which refers to the Sago palm. Initially moving northward, the cyclone turned westward in response to a building ridge to its northeast while slowly strengthening, reaching its peak intensity with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of 85 km/h (50 mph) on August 16. At 20:05 UTC that day, the storm made landfall in Shanghai at peak intensity, maintaining its strength as it moved inland due to ample environmental moisture. However, Rumbia began to weaken as it continued further inland, degenerating into a tropical depression on August 17 shortly before becoming extratropical over central China. The extratropical remnants of Rumbia accelerated northeastward into the Russian Far East, where they dissipated on August 23.
The 2020 East Africa floods were a natural disaster in Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Tanzania, affecting at least 700,000 people. They began when excessive rains began falling in March, leading to massive flooding and landslides. They caused more than 430 deaths, notably in Kenya and Rwanda. In the fall another round of floods hit the African Sahel.
Tropical Cyclone Eloise was the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the country of Mozambique since Cyclone Kenneth in 2019 and the second of three consecutive tropical cyclones to impact Mozambique in the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. The seventh tropical depression, fifth named storm and the second tropical cyclone of the season, Eloise's origins can be traced to a disturbance over the central portion of the South-West Indian Ocean basin which developed into a tropical depression on 16 January, and strengthened into a tropical storm on 17 January, though the storm had limited strength and organization. On the next day, the storm entered a more favorable environment, and it soon intensified to a severe tropical storm on 18 January. Late on 19 January, Eloise made landfall in northern Madagascar as a moderate tropical storm, bringing with it heavy rainfall and flooding. The storm traversed Madagascar and entered the Mozambique Channel in the early hours of 21 January. After moving southwestward across the Mozambique Channel for an additional 2 days, Eloise strengthened into a Category 1-equivalent cyclone, due to low wind shear and high sea surface temperatures. Early on 23 January, Eloise peaked as a Category 2-equivalent tropical cyclone on the Saffir–Simpson scale as the center of the storm began to move ashore in Mozambique. Shortly afterward, Eloise made landfall just north of Beira, Mozambique, before rapidly weakening. Subsequently, Eloise weakened into a remnant low over land on 25 January, dissipating soon afterward.
In 2021, Niger has been affected by subsequent floods due to heavy rains, causing several deaths and widespread damage nationwide. Niamey is the most affected area. At least 62 people died, 60 were injured and 105,690 individuals have been affected by the floods. Most fatalities were reported in Maradi Region with 18 deaths.
Throughout 2022, floods affected most of Africa, killing over 2,100 people. The worst affected country was Nigeria, with over 610 deaths.
The 2022 Nigeria floods affected many parts of the country. From the Federal Government Data, the floods had displaced over 1.4 million people, killed over 603 people, and injured more than 2,400 people. About 82,035 houses had been damaged, and 332,327 hectares of land had also been affected.
This article lists events from the year 2024 in Niger.
Floods in Ghana is a list of flood incidents that has destroyed properties and led to loss of lives. Floods are caused by excessive rainfall and dam spillages.