Floods in Niger, caused by exceptionally heavy rains in 2024, resulted in nearly 400 deaths and affected over 1.5 million people, according to the final toll announced by the government on Saturday.

The floods caused the deaths of 396 people throughout the course of 2024, as confirmed by Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba. A further 405 individuals were injured, and more than 200,000 households, which amounted to 1,526,653 people, were impacted by the devastating floods.

The unusually violent rainy season, which lasted from June to September 2024, brought torrential rains, affecting even the normally arid northern regions near the Sahara. The extreme weather exacerbated existing vulnerabilities in the country, including severe droughts in the Sahel region, which made the soil less capable of absorbing water, thus intensifying the flooding.

The floods caused significant damage to infrastructure, including historical sites and thousands of homes.

In Agadez, the UNESCO-listed historic old town and its 16th-century Grand Mosque were damaged by the rains.

In Zinder, one of the most visited sites, a 19th-century mud brick mosque collapsed due to the heavy downpours.

The southern regions of Dosso, Maradi and Zinder, as well as the western region of Tahoua, were particularly hard-hit, with some areas recording rainfall amounts up to 200 percent higher than usual.

The capital, Niamey, was temporarily cut off from the rest of the country after road damage caused by the floods.

Additionally, the country’s schools were severely impacted, with many being used as shelters for displaced people.

This led the military junta to delay the start of the school year by almost a month, to October 28.

The devastating rains also resulted in the destruction of homes and the death of livestock.

In total, last year’s floods destroyed over 158,000 homes and killed approximately 31,000 livestock, further impacting the livelihoods of many Nigeriens.

The heavy rains and subsequent floods underscored the growing threat posed by climate change, with experts warning that man-made fossil fuel emissions are likely contributing to the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events like torrential rains.