Written by: George Fominyen
DAKAR (AlertNet)- Heavy flooding has displaced over half a million people and killed over 100 in West Africa since the start of the rainy season in June, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said.
A vast multi-agency effort is underway in the region to provide relief including shelter, food, water and proper hygiene conditions for the homeless and most vulnerable . The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the flooding could lead to an increased risk of disease.
According to OCHA, problems caused by urbanisation such as the absence of drainage and unplanned construction heighten the risk of destruction during heavy rainfall.
Here are the recent facts and figures by country of damage caused by the flooding.
Burkina Faso - 150,000 people have been uprooted from their homes and five have died following the heaviest rainfall seen in the country's capital Ouagadougou in 90 years. About 50,000 people have been settled in 88 places in the capital while the rest are living with relatives.
Senegal - Over 264,000 people have been displaced or seen their property destroyed around the country's capital Dakar and in the towns of Thiès, Kaolack, Kaffrine, Kolda, Sédhiou and Saint-Louis regions, according to the United Nations which has offered over $278,000 worth of equipment to the Senegalese government to assist in pumping out the water that has invaded whole neighbourhoods.
Sierra Leone - 103 people died and over 1,000 have been displaced in Sierra Leone since the rainy season started. Eight villages in the Kambia District lost all their crops to the rains. Kambia in the north of the country produces most of the rice consumed in the country and authorities were worried this might lead to a shortage of the product.
Niger - The lives of 80,000 people were disrupted in the Agadez region, north of the country, when two days of heavy rainfall caused a dam to break and flood the city of Agadez. Three people were killed.
Ghana - 52, 000 people have lost property or homes and at least 25 have been killed.
Mali - About 18,000 people have been impacted by floods and 25 have been killed. The country's ministry of Territorial Administration said this was a provisional figure. However, WHO has said the situation appears under control.
Benin - 20,000 people lost property or were displaced by floods which affected the coastal part of the country. According to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement (IFRC) seven people died but this has not been confirmed by the Benin authorities.
Guinea - About 16,000 people either abandoned their homes or had their houses partially damaged in the country's capital Conakry and the town of Kindia.
Mauritania - 11,000 persons had been made homeless by flooding in Rosso located 250 km (155 miles) from the capital Nouaktchott.
Ivory Coast - In June severe rains caused mudslides and floods that killed at least 19 people in the country's biggest town Abidjan, the authorities said.
There has also been weather related destruction in Cameroon, Liberia, Chad and the Gambia.
