IRIN reports on flooding in Africa

Sep 12 2012

In three separate articles, IRIN reports on the implications of flooding taking place in Africa. "Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August," the news service writes in the first article, adding that the floods have affected 445,725 people and destroyed 255,720 hectares of cropland. "The flooding is occurring at a time when Chad is still grappling with food insecurity," IRIN states, noting, "Waterborne diseases, such as cholera, are endemic in some of the West and Central African countries, often peaking during the rainy season between August and December" (9/7).

"Floods have forced at least 15,000 people to leave their homes in northern Uganda, where the deluge has destroyed houses, crops, roads and bridges," IRIN writes in a second article. According to one report, 13,000 hectares of cropland was inundated and 2,000 latrines were destroyed, the news service adds. "'The situation is certainly bad. It's worrying. There is fear of an outbreak of certain diseases and food insecurity as a result of the heightened rains and flooding,' Ugandan State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Musa Ecweru told IRIN," according to the news service (9/7). In a third article, IRIN writes, "In April, the archipelago nation of Comoros was lashed by its heaviest rains in decades, uprooting families and destroying the crops and incomes of its poorest people," noting, "At a donor conference last week, the country, backed by the U.N. and the South African government, made an appeal for just over $19 million to help the country get back on its feet" (9/10).