Torrential rains in Niger kill 15 more people; as floods kill 25 in southern India

Torrential rains in Niger kill 15 more people; as floods kill 25 in southern India
by AFP Staff Writers
Niamey, Niger (AFP) Sept 1, 2024
Torrential rains in Niger have killed at least 15 more people, regional authorities said on Sunday, the latest casualties of the downpours lashing the African nation.

Heavy rains have been drenching Africa's Sahel region since June and the latest victims in Niger come on top of at least 217 people who have died across the country in that time, according to authorities.

More than 350,000 people have been affected and last week rising floodwaters nearly cut off the capital Niamey from the rest of the country before retreating.

The latest deaths occurred on Friday in the city of Maradi, the country's economic capital whose eponymous region that has been one of the areas most affected by the rains.

"We have registered 15 human lives lost, we have also registered injured and heavy material damage", regional governor Issoufou Mamane told public television.

Friday saw 150 millimetres (six inches) of water fall on the city in the space of 90 minutes, local television said.

Images broadcast on television showed water racing through the streets, touching off landslides and collapsing homes as it carried off cars, motorcycles and trees.

Drinking water and electricity supplies have been affected in some areas, according to broadcasters.

The downpours have also disturbed traffic on the main route linking Maradi to the city of Zinder.

Niger's rainy season normally lasts from June to September and consistently brings a heavy death toll.

In 2022 there were 195 deaths and 400,000 people affected.

Torrential floods kill 25 in southern India
New Delhi (AFP) Sept 2, 2024 - Intense monsoon rains and floods in India's southern states have killed at least 25 people, with thousands rescued and taken to relief camps, disaster officials said Monday.

At least 16 people have been killed in Telangana state, and nine in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh in the past two days.

"Lots of houses have been damaged as well," Y. Nagi Reddy, director general of Telangana's disaster response and fire service, told AFP, noting there had 400 millimetres (15.7 inches) of rainfall within the past 24 hours.

Around 3,800 people have been rescued in Telangana and moved to relief camps.

India's air force said Monday it had flown in more than 200 rescue officers and 30 tonnes of emergency aid to both states.

Rains cause widespread destruction every year, but experts say climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.

Last week, at least 28 people were killed over three days in the western state of Gujarat.

The northeastern state of Tripura was also hit by floods and landslides in August, with more than 20 people killed.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, downriver from India, floods killed at least 40 people over the same period, with nearly 300,000 residents taking refuge in emergency shelters.