At least fifteen people, including 14 students and their teacher, lost their lives overnight between Wednesday and Thursday as torrential rains struck the semi-arid Ouaddai province in eastern Chad, local officials confirmed.
The governor of Ouaddai province reported that a building, which was being used as a makeshift classroom, collapsed under the pressure of the storm, leading to the tragic deaths. The prime minister’s office later clarified that lightning had struck the school, resulting in the fatalities and several injuries.
This devastating storm follows a pattern of severe weather in Chad. Last month, heavy rains caused flooding in the northwestern province of Tibesti, where 54 people perished. The area typically sees less than 200 mm of rain annually, making the recent downpours particularly catastrophic.
On Tuesday, the United Nations issued a warning about the severe impacts of “torrential rain and severe flooding” across central Africa, highlighting that Chad has been the hardest hit. In just a few weeks, over 246,000 people in the country have been affected by floodwaters.
Neighbouring Niger has also been severely impacted, with ongoing rains since June claiming 273 lives and affecting more than 700,000 people, according to authorities on Wednesday.
Scientists have consistently warned that climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is intensifying extreme weather events, making occurrences like floods more frequent, severe, and prolonged.