Hard-hit Nigeria is by no means the only African nation dealing with severe impacts from climate change. A new assessment from the World Food Program (WFP) identifies 19 countries in Central and West Africa dealing with floods caused by excessive rainfall. Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Gambia and Chad are…
Catastrophic flooding that followed heavy rains in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal has claimed at least 259 lives, according to the disaster management agency leading the emergency response. The rains that began late Monday swamped roadways, stressed dams, and brought towering walls of mud and water down on the…
A new tool to map floods around the world, especially those that occur in the Global South, has been launched through a partnership between Google, MapBox, and other players working with a UN University group based in Canada. The World Flood Mapping Tool uses the Google Earth engine combined with…
The European Union has announced €105.5 million in aid to Horn of Africa nations facing not just the coronavirus pandemic but also ongoing conflict, severe flooding and a months-long locust infestation that has destroyed crops and threatened food security. Somalia and Ethiopia will share €90 million nearly equally, while Kenya…
Madagascar, caught in the throes of yet another environmental disaster, was named Tuesday as the country with the most underreported humanitarian crisis – part of an effort by the CARE International NGO to call attention to climate impacts in places that aren’t getting as much attention as industrial nations are….
Japan and the European Union are among those supporting Djibouti after severe flooding hit the Horn of Africa nation, affecting some 250,000 people according to latest numbers from the EU. The United Nations office in Djibouti said the equivalent of two years of rainfall fell in a single day last…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The death toll has risen to 37 in Kenya, where authorities continue to deal with heavy rains and landslides in West Pokot, a county along the border with Uganda. Saturday’s massive downpours complicated the rescue efforts, isolating communities because of closed roads and leaving “already remote areas virtually unreachable,” according…
Recent flooding has brought disaster to parts of Somalia, with heavy Deyr-season rains sending the Shabelle and Juba rivers over their banks and forcing some 273,000 people from their homes in the southern part of the nation. That’s raised fears of malaria and other disease outbreaks in the affected regions….
Floods in Sudan have claimed at least 54 lives so far this rainy season, with impacts in almost all of the 18 states in the country. Most of the fatalities have occurred when the roofs of homes collapsed or people were electrocuted. The heavy rains that began August 13 have…
More than 60 million people were affected by extreme weather and natural hazards last year, including floods in Nigeria and drought in Kenya, according to an analysis of 281 events. Flooding continues to impact the most people – more than half the total, although earthquake and tsunami accounted for the…
Nigeria has activated five emergency command centers to better coordinate the response to deadly flooding, which has claimed more than 100 lives along the Niger and Benue rivers in the country’s southeast. The flooding has left some 600,000 people displaced, according to the European Union humanitarian aid office for emergency…
At least 18 people have died in flash flooding that hit in and around the capital city of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday, according to emergency personnel. Video from Côte d’Ivoire shared on social media appeared to show streets that turned into swollen and raging rivers, sweeping vehicles away…
Meteorologists tracking Sagar, a relatively rare tropical storm that strengthened as it crossed the entire Gulf of Aden, are expecting landfall on Saturday near the Djibouti-Somalia border. It has potential impacts for Ethiopia too as it reaches the Horn of Africa. Flash floods were reported in the Bari region of…
Weather agencies across the globe are keeping an eye on a relatively rare tropical storm that’s strengthened in the Gulf of Aden, with potential impacts for Horn of Africa nations including Djibouti and Somalia. Meteorologist Ryan Maue, a tropical storm expert in the United States, noted an eye feature in…
Heavy rainfall hit parts of Malawi on Monday, causing flash floods that left at least one person dead and many reported injured. The Nyasa Times said a 16-year-old boy died and others were taken to the hospital at Chilumba following rains that left Karonga, a village along the western edge…