Niger's capital grapples with isolation amidst severe flooding in the Sahel region rains since June, 2024.
EPICSTORIAN – Niamey, the capital of Niger, has been nearly isolated due to severe flooding caused by heavy rains in the Sahel region, which extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.
Niamey’s Persistent floodings, according to the Niger’s military regime leader, have claimed over 217 lives across the country within the past three months.
Available exit routes in the city are reportedly covered in sinking mud, with more than 11,4500 locals internally displaced and nearly over 350,000 people affected since the beginning of this year.
According to MG report, Niamey had previously witnessed the most horrific flooding, where Canoes became residents’ only means of transporting themselves and their goods across offshore on to ashore.
One of the affected residents, Habiboulaye Abdoulaye, said, “To travel to other parts of the country, you must take a canoe and hope to find a vehicle on the other side.”
Abdoulaye said some commercial “transport companies no longer operate in Niger,” and have shut down their services as most of the roads are blocked and entirely surrounded by floods.
A truck driver, Ali Adamou, described his experience as “debilitating”, adding that he and with his four friends were almost drowned with a minibus stuck in the middle of the a flood. He said the bus was “engulfed by the waters”.
Volunteers and military boats frequently arrive at critical locations to rescue residents stranded persons, pulling them and their families out to safety.
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Local dinghies skippers are charging 500 CFA francs (about $0.83) to transport people out of flooded areas, while construction companies are working with their excavators to raise high dykes above the Niger River rising levels.
A French construction company Sogea-Satom in the east of Niger’s capital, according to MG, is working to reopen Niger’s main highway called National Route 1, which covers nearly 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) in distance.
Also, the Tera-Niamey highway, the only truck route connecting Niamey to northern Burkina Faso, has recently reopened.
Niger’s Officials promise to address the situation in Niamey
In his response to the incident, Niger’s transport Minister, Colonel Salissou Mahaman Salissou, entreated the public to be patient as the military-led government has been working hard to restore convenient movements.
