In Nigeria, the death toll also rose from 259 to 269, and more than 640.000 people were forced to flee their homes, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said today.

“To date, we have recorded 487 flood-related deaths and nearly 1,7 million people affected.”

“It's an alarming number and we're asking Chad's partners for help.”

Mahamat Assileck Halata, vice-president of the National Flood Prevention and Management Committee, told EFE, confirming the data released last Friday by the United Nations.

According to Halata, the floods destroyed 200 homes and more than 355 hectares of agricultural land, while 66 head of livestock were lost in a phenomenon that affected 117 of the country's 120 departments.

The areas with the highest number of deaths are the provinces of Logone Est and Mayo-Kebbi Ouest in the south of the country, and Ouaddaï and Wadi Fira in the east, although the province of Lac (west) has the highest number of people affected by the disaster.

"All the fields are flooded. Our crops are rotting in the water."

“This situation does not bode well for tomorrow: if people do not reap what they sow, there will be famine in the coming months.”

Jonas Masra, a resident of the city of Sarh, in the province of Moyen-Chari (south), also lamented in statements to EFE.

In addition to Chad, heavy rains have been hitting several countries in West and Central Africa for months, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), Togo, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Niger and Mali, causing unprecedented flooding.

This situation worsens the circumstances of a population already vulnerable due to chronic poverty, underdevelopment, conflicts and political instability.

According to figures also released today by the Bloomberg news agency, floods in a swath of Central and West Africa have left at least 2,9 million people homeless, in addition to devastating crops in a region already experiencing food shortages and insecurity.

Heavy rains in the western half of the semi-arid Sahel zone bordering the Sahara Desert are likely to continue, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

The floods that occurred this year, which coincide with a crucial harvest season, are attributed by experts to global warming.

According to the Severe Weather Europe website, which publishes weather forecasts, a large part of the Sahara will receive more than 500% of its normal September rainfall this month alone.

The International Rescue Group described the flooding in the region as the worst in 30 years, and estimates from the Climate Hazards Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, show that large swathes of Mali and Mauritania saw their highest rainfall levels on record in the first ten days of September, according to Bloomberg.