Devastating rains in Acarara

In Niger severe floods caused by heavy and incessant rains have brought massive destruction. People do not remember such a situation in many years, with some speaking of 60, as recent climate changes have made the sporadicity, if not the absence of water, common in recent years, even during the rainy season. Official data speaks of more than 217 people dead and over 700,000 affected, but it is feared that the numbers are much, much higher.

The floods have devastated infrastructure, roads, farmland, and livestock. Even near the well, water covers the surrounding land and has forced the people of the Acarara community to move continuously to surrounding areas in search of safe places. Their few animals have mostly been swept away by the force of the water. The floods are so severe that they cannot reach the nearby town of Tighirwit, despite attempts to restore the road, where there is a hospital and markets, making their situation truly dire. In Acarara, the batteries that power the pump, which runs even at night, have been submerged by the water and need to be replaced as soon as possible.

Even in Tokokoute, where the Ecole des Etoiles is located, very few people remain; when this situation ends, the people will return and try to rebuild their lives, taking into account this experience, which will make it necessary to imagine new solutions to protect themselves from similar future events.