Flooding has killed at least 45 people and led to the displacement of more than 226,000 from their homes in Niger this week, officials said Saturday.
Days of heavy rain in Niger’s western region caused the Niger River to overflow, practically shutting down the capital, Niamey.
Mud huts along the river have collapsed and rice fields are submerged.
Niger’s prime minister, Brigi Rafini, visited affected neighborhoods and families. He was quoted as saying that with river dike rehabilitation work completed just before the rainy season, flooding should not have happened.
Rafini said additional measures will be taken to protect other threatened areas, adding that with climate change, “we are never safe from floods.”
Last year, floods in Niger killed at least 57 people and forced more than 132,500 to abandon their homes, according to government figures.
-VOA