Niger floods cause widespread devastation
Niamey, 26 Aug - (ANA) - Heavy flooding in Niger has killed up to 65 people and left 125,000 homeless, it has been reported.
The UN said southern Dosso region has been worst affected, with over 10,000 homes destroyed. The capital Niamey was also hit
when the River Niger burst its banks, flooding the city's suburbs. Plan International's Niger director Rheal Drisdalle said
on 18-19 August, the river reached levels "not seen since the 1920s". At last count, the United Nation's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the floods have destroyed 14,000 homes and 7,000 fields of cereal crops across the country. The West African country is already suffering from severe food shortages caused by recent drought. President Mahamadou Issou pledged 1,400 tonnes of food and 900,000 euros (£712,443) in aid for people affected by the flooding, but admitted that it would not be enough and called for international help. Mr Drisdalle said the United Nations and other aid agencies are trying to raise funds to send further supplies. Following appeals from the country's president for aid, the Irish government and Plan International are sending a plane loaded wth supplies. Other West African countries have also experienced higher than average rainfall and flooding this season, including Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Ghana.(ANA)
FA/ANA/26 August 2012-------