Tornado claims 15 lives in Chadian village amidst severe flooding crisis
The tragedy unfolded on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, when violent winds and torrential rains caused the collapse of a room housing students at a local Quranic school, located 20 kilometers from the town of Abéché.
“This is the greatest tragedy caused by the heavy rains this year,” local officials said.
The incident follows a similar disaster on August 4 in the village of Dagro, in the Kanem province, where four members of the same family lost their lives after their home collapsed under the weight of severe rainfall.
The tornado in Titir is just one example of the extreme weather events that have plagued Chad since mid-July, resulting in widespread flooding across all 23 provinces of the country.
According to Chadian authorities and humanitarian partners, more than 964,000 people—or approximately 166,000 households—have been affected by these floods as of August 25, 2024.
The disaster toll includes 145 fatalities, with over 251,000 hectares of farmland submerged, more than 70,000 homes destroyed, and 29,000 livestock lost.
On August 11, another tragic incident occurred when torrential rains claimed the lives of at least 11 gold miners at a mining site near the Libyan border.
The ongoing deluge has severely impacted the provinces of Mayo-Kebbi East, Tandjilé, Mandoul, Salamat, N’Djamena, and Sila, with these areas experiencing the highest numbers of affected residents.
Chad’s Minister of Social Action and Humanitarian Affairs, Fatimé Boukar Kossei, expressed her condolences to the victims and their families in a message shared on her Facebook page.
“In these moments of profound grief, we extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for divine mercy for the souls of our departed compatriots. We pay tribute to the resilience and solidarity shown by the Chadian people during these challenging times,” she wrote.
The latest tragedy in Titir underscores the broader crisis facing Chad as it grapples with extreme weather patterns that have wreaked havoc on communities, livelihoods, and infrastructure.
The government, alongside humanitarian organizations, continues to mobilize efforts to provide relief and support to those affected, but the scale of the disaster presents an ongoing challenge as the country braces for further potential impacts in the coming weeks.
