The city is seen as completely cut off from the rest of the country. Exceptional flooding in rivers in Niger, caused by heavy rains in the Sahel since June, engulfed the capital Niamey this week. The main exits from the city of about one and a half million people, located south of the Sahara, were flooded. According to the latest official report, the number of victims in the capital stands at 11,500.

According to military officials who came to power in July 2023, less than three months later, the floods left 217 dead and 200 injured in the vast desert country, affecting more than 350,000.

“From here, you can see my truck and four others swallowed by the water”Ali Adamou testified, a driver interviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) in front of the brown mud at one of Niamey’s exits, adding: “A minibus has already sunk and I almost lost my life”. Leaving Niamey, “You must borrow a canoe, and hope to be able to continue the journey by vehicle on the other shore.”Habiboulaye Abdoulaye, who lives in a remote village completely isolated by water, explained.

Many roads have been cut

Most of the transport companies have stopped their connections to the interior of the country. Gendarmes were sent as reinforcements to assist travelers next to the dilapidated boats, which charged 500 CFA francs (less than one euro) for the crossing.

“We are vigilant, we are monitoring those who come down”A soldier armed with a Kalashnikov told AFP. “Malicious people may try to infiltrate”He added. For nearly a decade, Niger has been the scene of attacks by armed groups — some of which are linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group — that have ravaged the country and are also active in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.

East of the capital, French construction group Sogea-Satom is working hard to ensure traffic resumes soon on National Road 1, the country’s main axis that runs nearly 1,500 kilometers from west to east. The government is making all efforts to streamline the traffic.Colonel Saliso Mahaman Saliso, the junta’s Minister of Transport, made the assurance on public television.

Officials fear a prolonged disruption to transportation, especially in the face of hydrocarbon shortages. Recently, they restored traffic on the Téra-Niamey axis, the only gateway for thousands of cargo trucks through northern Burkina Faso. In mid-August, the Niger River Basin Authority (ABN) warned residents of the upcoming capital. “Rapidly Rising Water”. Excavators try to raise the trenches, while volunteers and soldiers cover the first cracks with sandbags.