Catastrophic Flooding Affects Central and West Africa

Central and West Africa are experiencing unprecedented flooding, with over 1,000 confirmed fatalities and hundreds of thousands displaced. Maiduguri, Nigeria's Borno state capital, is particularly affected, witnessing inmates fleeing from flooded prisons and corpses floating in the streets. The floods have intensified existing humanitarian crises in Chad, Nigeria, Mali, and Niger, affecting more than four million people this year, a threefold increase from 2022, according to the UN. The death toll includes at least 230 in Nigeria, 265 in Niger, 487 in Chad, and 55 in Mali, which is facing its worst flooding since the 1960s. Despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa is highly susceptible to extreme weather, with adaptation costs projected at $30-50 billion annually over the next decade. The World Meteorological Organization warns that up to 118 million Africans could be impacted by such weather events by 2030.