Nigerien govt confirms 27 dead, over 70,000 affected in floods

The Niger Republic government on Saturday confirmed 27 dead in a flooding caused by heavy rains in the troubled West African country.

The humanitarian action ministry said in a statement the More than 30 people had been injured and 71,136 affected by the flood as of Friday.

The rainy season between June and September often triggers deadly flooding in the landlocked West African nation, including in the arid northern regions.

The ministry added that Maradi, Zinder and Tahoua were hit hardest and 6,530 houses have collapsed in the three regions.

READ ALSO: UN agency says 4.4m Nigerians affected by floods since July

However, the country’s capital, Niamey, a city of two million people was not affected this time.

Niger has been in the global spotlight lately, albeit for the wrong reason, following the removal of President Mohammed Basoum in a military coup on July 26.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has activated its standby force to eject the coup plotters from the presidential palace after they rebuffed entreaties to restore constitutional order in the Uranium-rich country but one of the poorest in the worls.

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