Flood Kills Nine Children As Several Houses Collapse In Niger

Police authorities in Niger confirm that at least nine children were killed as heavy rains over the past few days caused the collapse of houses in the capital Niamey. Zourkaleini Maiga, secretary general of the local authority said the children were killed as buildings gave way in different parts of the city.

One mother told a local television how three of her four children had been killed as they sheltered from the downpour by the wall of a neighbouring house. The heavy rains also demolished one of the main markets in the city centre. And two Niger television channels, Tele-Sahel and Tal-TV, were knocked off air after their studios were flooded.

Niger’s rainy season, which lasts three to four months, has only just started. Last month, the United Nations warned that fresh flooding this year would effect more than 106,000 people in Niger. Last year’s flooding claimed the lives of 50 people and affected 145,000 people.