ABUJA – Houses swept away to the very last brick. Inmates frantically fleeing the city’s main prison as its walls got washed away by water rising from an overflowing dam. Corpses of crocodiles and snakes floating among human bodies on what used to be main streets.

The recent torrential rains across Central and West Africa have unleashed the most catastrophic floods in decades. In Maiduguri, the capital of the fragile Nigerian state of Borno — which has been at the center of an Islamic extremists’ insurgency — residents have faced unimaginable devastation.

These floods have claimed over 1,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Chad, Nigeria, Mali, and Niger. The scale of the disaster has aggravated existing humanitarian crises in the region, with over 4 million individuals affected by flooding so far this year in West Africa.

Rescue operations are ongoing, but many lives have already been lost. This natural disaster has left a trail of devastation, with significant casualties reported in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Mali.

The World Meteorological Organization warns that Africa is among the most vulnerable to extreme weather events, despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions. Sub-Saharan Africa faces an estimated cost of $30-50 billion annually over the next decade to adapt to extreme weather, with millions of lives at stake.

Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, is reeling from the effects of the floods. The region has been grappling with decade-long attacks by Boko Haram militants, further complicating the situation.

The plight of individuals like Saleh Bukar, a resident of Maiduguri, highlights the immense challenges faced by flood victims. As the city remains submerged, aid efforts are struggling to keep up with the scale of the disaster, leaving many residents to fend for themselves.

In neighboring Niger, the floods have uprooted hundreds of thousands of people, including Harira Adamou, a single mother of six, whose home was destroyed in the deluge. With little support from the state, she and her children are left in limbo, fearing the return of heavy rains.

As these communities struggle to rebuild in the aftermath of the floods, the road to recovery remains long and daunting. Humanitarian organizations are providing essential aid, but local residents like Bukar are leading the charge in helping their fellow citizens in their time of need.

The devastating impact of the floods serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address climate change and its disproportionate effects on vulnerable regions around the world. As these communities strive to pick up the pieces, the resilience and solidarity shown by individuals like Bukar offer a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness.

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Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal.