Chad floods kill 503, affect 1.7 million people, UN says

N'Djamena, Chad — 

Severe flooding successful Chad since July has claimed 503 lives and affected astir 1.7 cardinal radical since July, the United Nations said Saturday successful its latest appraisal of the disaster.

The floods person destroyed 212,111 houses, flooded 357,832 hectares of fields, and drowned 69,659 heads of cattle, said the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs successful Chad.

All of the country's provinces person been hit, Chad's h2o and vigor curate Marcelin Kanabe Passale told journalists Saturday morning, informing of much occupation to come.

"The waters of the Logone and Chari rivers person reached a captious tallness apt to origin evident superior flooding successful the coming days," Passale said.

N'Djamena, Chad's capital, is located wherever the Logone and Chari rivers travel into each other.

Passale recommended that each h2o from backstage wells beryllium treated with chlorine earlier consumption.

A flood-monitoring committee had been acceptable up to "assess the risks associated with the contamination of drinking h2o supplies and rising stream levels," helium added.

The U.N. warned successful aboriginal September of the interaction of "torrential rains and terrible flooding" successful the wider region, peculiarly successful Chad, calling for contiguous enactment and backing to tackle clime change.

This summertime has been the hottest recorded globally since records person been kept, with a slew of grounds temperatures, heatwaves, drought and terrible flooding.