NIAMEY, Niger — Six weeks of severe, ongoing flooding has claimed 52 lives and displaced almost 400,000 people in Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa that already was in the throes of a major food shortage.
Torrential rains have swept away crops, tools and homes, according to news services. Southern Baptists have mobilized a disaster assessment team and authorized an initial release of $25,000 in relief funds.
The chief of the Sarando area told the assessment team that roughly 2,400 people have been displaced there and 190 homes have been destroyed. Residents have lost 60 percent of their millet and gardens, and homeless families have taken refuge in schools, with family members or in a local church.
Niger lies in the Sahel region of Africa, which has been struggling with a food crisis.
An estimated 18 million people have been suffering from food shortages, with nearly 1.5 million children facing starvation, according to United Nations figures.
To donate to the World Hunger Fund, visit www.baptistglobalresponse.com/donate.
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