2022 Chad floods explained

Duration:July 2022 – present
Affected:Republic of Chad
Fatalities:22

The 2022 Chadian floods began in the Republic of Chad during July 2022 and currently continued till September 2022 following the heaviest rains in the country since 1990.[1] [2] An estimated 442,000 Chadians had been affected or displaced by flooding by the end of August 2022, including in large parts of the national capital, N'Djamena.[1]

Cause

Chad, as well as neighboring countries across Central and West Africa, experienced above-normal rainfall during July and August 2022, causing floods in many countries.[1] According to Idriss Abdallah Hassan, an official with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and National Meteorology, the government weather agency, "The country has not recorded such a quantity of rainwater since 1990."[1]

Damage

Twenty-two people had died as a result of the floods by mid-August 2022, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).[2] An estimated 442,000 people were displaced by flooding by the end of August 2022.[1] Officials with the state weather agency described the flooding as "catastrophic".[1]

Flooding destroyed an estimated 2,700 hectares of crops and arable farming land during August 2022.[2]

Parts of the city of N'Djamena were hit particularly hard by the floods, with areas of the capital accessible only by boat.[1] N'Djamena's Eighth District flooded beginning in July 2022 and remained underwater in early September 2022.[1] According to Chadian officials and residents of the Eighth District, all of the district's neighborhoods were flooded.[1] Residents sought shelter in other parts of the city.[1]

Notes and References

  1. News: Mahamat . Ramadane . Thousands battle 'catastrophic' floods after Chad's heaviest rains in 30 years . . 2022-09-06 . 2022-09-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906091823/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/thousands-battle-catastrophic-floods-after-chads-heaviest-rains-30-years-2022-09-06/ . 2022-09-06 . live.
  2. News: Unprecedented flooding in Chad hits more than 340,000 people . . 2022-08-28 . 2022-09-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831124419/https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20220828-unprecedented-flooding-in-chad-hits-more-than-340-000-people . 2022-08-31 . live.