The far north of Benin and particularly the municipalities located around the Niger River are currently suffering from the ravages of water following a particularly abundant rainy season. From Kandi to Malanville via Banikoara, Ségbana, Gogounou and Karimama the damage is enormous and varies from one municipality to another.
Bachir ISSA
A Malanville, according to the mayor, Gado Guidami, at the microphone of national television, the municipal platform for risk and disaster prevention recorded more than 56 000 people affected, including about 5 000 personnes ont pu bénéficier de l’aide et sont à l’abri. Le constat fait sur place est que les routes sont impraticables, food carried by the water. The same situation prevails in the commune of Kandi.
A Gogbèdè, a village in the district of Bensèkou located about twenty kilometers from Kandi on the way to Ségbana, 38 houses have collapsed and 10 about to suffer the same fate. Poultry, cattle and many other goods were not spared. As for agricultural inputs for the campaign, they got wet. One registered death, that of a child. The latter returned the soul following a collapsed chamber in Donwari, another district of Kandi located on the road to Banikoara. In the three urban districts, the observation is the same. A Karimama, la route Guéné – Karimama est menacée par la rupture d’un pont. Identical situation to Gogounou via Banikoara and Ségbana. The rain leaves no inhabitant indifferent.
Urgent needs
In addition to the first measures making it possible to transform classrooms into shelters for the moment, and the descent of political and administrative authorities to observe the damage and the assistance provided, the needs of disaster victims remain pressing. It is therefore urgent to find solutions for the food and health care of the victims., but also the creation of drinking water supply conditions and hygiene and sanitation, the protection of potentially floodable areas and especially their relocation. Because in a few days, the classrooms serving as accommodation for disasters will accommodate the students.