In Chad, the monstrous floods affecting the population led the president of the transitional government of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby, to declare a “state of emergency” on Wednesday 19 October to “better contain and manage this natural disaster situation”.
The people of Chad are facing a season of heavy rainfall that has caused severe flooding in N’Djamena and several other towns. In a televised address on Wednesday, Mahamat Idriss Déby noted that “636 localities in 18 of the country’s 23 provinces are affected by heavy flood, affecting more than one million people.
The president of the transition also added that “these floods, both rain and river, have also caused significant damage. These waters have swallowed up more than 465,000 hectares of fields and more than 19,000 heads of livestock. Furthermore, according to Mahamat Idriss Déby’s message, the most affected provinces are Mayo Kebbi Est, Logone Occidental, Tandjilé, Moyen Chari and Mandoul. And the areas most at risk are the city of N’Djamena and its surroundings. Faced with this “increasingly worrying” situation, “a state of emergency will be instituted to better contain and manage this natural disaster situation”, he said.
Call for solidarity
The flood in Chad caused several houses to collapse, leaving many homeless and injured. After reassuring that “all the necessary measures must be taken by the public authorities to deal with the situation and help the affected populations throughout the country”, the President launched an appeal. “The government appeals to national solidarity and to all national actors and international partners to come to the aid of the populations identified in the crisis phase and those in the emergency phase with emergency humanitarian assistance to cope with the floods,” the Chadian president continued.
Mahamat Idriss Déby also warned that “the risk of widespread flooding is therefore becoming increasingly evident if the rise remains constant over the course of this week” as “over the past three weeks, the water level has risen by an average of 9 cm per day and it could reach the critical peak of 882 cm”. He added: “Large amounts of water are converging on Lake Chad at the moment, and will probably cause more damage than has already been observed across the country.
In recent weeks, the population has been suffering from the overflow of the two rivers that cross the capital, the Chari and the Logone. To alleviate the burden on the affected populations, the UN announced last week the development of a joint government and humanitarian response plan to the floods. US$70 million is to be mobilised for the needs of a target population of 800,000 people.
