Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby has declared a state of emergency over flooding that is affecting more than a million people in the country.
According to international media, floods are not uncommon during Chad’s rainy season, which usually runs from May to October in its southern regions. But this year, the rains came early and were the heaviest in decades.
“Starting now, a state of emergency will be instituted to better contain and manage this natural disaster,” said Deby in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday.
The flooding has affected 636 localities in 18 out of 23 provinces in the country, he added. The worst affected are the southern provinces of Mayo Kebbi Est, Logone Occidental, Tandjile, Moyen-Chari and Mandoul.
The floodwaters have “swallowed up more than 465,000 hectares [1.15 million acres] of fields and 19,000 heads of livestock,” Deby said.
N’Djamena, the capital, has not been spared either – hundreds of people there have fled their homes due to flooding in the last few days.
