Niger’s capital, Niamey, has been nearly cut off from the rest of the country due to rising floodwaters following heavy rains that have battered the Sahel region since June. The city, home to approximately 1.5 million people, is now largely surrounded by water, with most of the main routes out of the city submerged. Around 11,500 residents have been directly affected by the disaster.
Over the past three months, these intense rains have caused 217 deaths and impacted more than 350,000 people across Niger, according to the military-led government that has been in power since July 2023.
Initially, Niamey, located in the southwest, had been spared from the worst of the flooding. However, the situation has deteriorated to the point where canoes have replaced buses and delivery vans on the city’s streets. Residents now face the challenge of navigating floodwaters to reach other parts of the country. “You have to take a canoe and hope to find a vehicle on the other shore,” explained Habiboulaye Abdoulaye, a resident of a suburb entirely surrounded by water.
Most transport companies have suspended their routes to the rest of Niger. In the absence of regular transport, dilapidated dinghies, charging 500 CFA francs per ride (less than $1), along with gendarme and military motorboats, are being used to ferry stranded residents.
Efforts are underway to restore connectivity, with the French construction group Sogea-Satom working to reopen National Route 1, the country’s main highway that stretches nearly 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). On the banks of the Niger River in Niamey, excavators are busy raising the dykes, while volunteers and soldiers scramble to seal cracks with sandbags.
Colonel Salissou Mahaman Salissou, Niger’s Minister of Transport, assured the public on state television that the government is doing everything possible to restore traffic. However, authorities are concerned that prolonged disruptions in transportation could lead to shortages, particularly of fuel.
