Chad: Lightning strike kills fourteen students and their teacher amid torrential rains

The building where the fourteen students and their marabout teacher were sheltering was struck by lightning during the night of Wednesday, September 4, to Thursday, September 5.

The governor of Ouaddai province, Bachar Ali Souleymane, visited the site on Friday, September 6, accompanied by Chad’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Limane Mahamat, to assess the damage and offer their condolences to the victims’ families.

According to Governor Souleymane, the lightning strike caused two out of the three rooms in the building to collapse.

Alongside the fifteen fatalities, two other children were injured, though their lives are not in danger.

Several other structures in the village sustained minor damage from the storm.

“A Tragic Situation”

Chadian Prime Minister Allah-Maye Halina expressed his condolences in a statement released on Thursday, describing the incident as a “tragic situation.”

He assured that local authorities are “mobilized to provide assistance and support to the victims and their families.”

This latest tragedy adds to the toll of roughly 145 people who have already lost their lives since the beginning of the rainy season in Chad.

According to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad, released on August 25, the country has been grappling with the devastating impact of the rains.

As of the report date, over 964,000 people (166,000 households) had been affected, with 70,000 homes destroyed, 250,000 hectares of farmland submerged, and 29,000 livestock lost.

Wider Impact Across the Region

The relentless rains and subsequent flooding have caused widespread devastation across many Sahelian and Central African countries, including Mali, Niger, Libya, Sudan, and Chad, leading to thousands of victims and displaced persons.

This latest incident further extends the growing list of casualties and damage across the region.

In Kenya, another tragedy unfolded when a fire broke out in the dormitory of Hillside Endarasha Academy, resulting in the deaths of 17 children and leaving several others seriously injured.

The incident occurred during the night of Thursday, September 5, to Friday, September 6, 2024, in Nyeri County, central Kenya.

These tragedies underscore the severe impacts of natural disasters across Africa, with vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of the ongoing harsh weather conditions.