Devastating Floods Sweep Niger

Photo: Sigma Delta (Flickr)

Mercy Corps is sending an emergency response team to meet the critical needs of families in areas of Niger affected by recent torrential rain and catastrophic flooding.

Over the past few weeks, large swaths of Niger have been inundated by devastating floodwaters. According to Niger's government, at least 32,000 houses have been destroyed in almost 50 villages. The flooding is affecting six out of Niger's eight regions, and the rains continue to fall. Thousands are displaced.

Not only have the floods swept away tens of thousands of homes, but they've also killed livestock and wrecked croplands. There are worries that this most recent disaster will trigger a food crisis, since next month's harvest has been jeopardized by the flooding. Most of Niger's 12 million people depend on their own fields for both food and income — if crops are lost, it's extremely difficult for families to survive.

Mercy Corps' emergency teams are traveling to some of Niger's most remote and impoverished villages to determine and address needs.

Our experience in Niger began with a lifesaving response to the 2005 food crisis, when we helped restore the health of 60,000 malnourished children and mothers in 130 villages. Since then, we've helped strengthen health care in Niger's rural areas, reaching more than 370,000 people in 547 villages.