This is a West African Katrina

Cotonou is underwater and no one seems to notice.

The small West African country of Benin has been experiencing some of the most dramatic flooding the world has ever seen. This flooding is especially evident in its capital city of Cotonou.

The city is experiencing the same sort of destruction New Orleans experienced in 2005.

The flooding began as part of the yearly rain season West Africa is so familiar with, yet in September the rains became so intense and unceasing that the country became virtually under water. Benin is experiencing the worst flooding they have seen in 47 years.

More than a quarter of the country is under water; 680,000 people have been affected and 128,000 hectares of crops have been decimated, and the rains keep coming, according to the Benin Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan and UNHCR.
This flooding has not only destroyed people’s homes and access to food, but also has led to massive outbreaks of cholera due to contaminated water supplies and lack of a
drainage system.

Yet, no one seems to notice.

Benin has received virtually no global news attention. But, Benin is not alone in terms of lack of media coverage or strange seasons.

West Africa as a whole has been having very strange weather patterns this year. Niger experienced the worst of both worlds this summer.

First, they experienced one of the worst famines in history due to the lack of rains. Then the problem became the opposite, flooding in Niger has become uncontrollable.
It has destroyed their homes and crops, and made the people of Niger extremely desperate for any sort of assistance.

The government of Niger said almost half of the population is at risk of daily hunger and nearly 17 percent of children younger than the age of five are malnourished.
Niger has had a lot of problems with flooding in the past, most recently in 2005. However, this year’s flooding is the worst the country has experienced in 80 years. In a country as economically depressed as Niger, flooding only highlights a lack of resources like food, water and shelter.

Even in the capital city of Niamey, every day is a battle to survive as people must wait in long lines and literally fight for their food. Outside the capital, many villages lack food.

More than 3,500 acres of cassava, rice and sorghum crops have been destroyed, and these three crops are the main diet of the people of Niger. The flooding displaced close to 200,000 people in a matter of weeks, and things have only gotten worse from there.
In the U.S., we use far more than we need to and waste so much without concern of its effect on our world. This wastefulness is hurting the environment around the world, especially in the already fragile climates of countries such as Benin, Niger and other West African nations.

Our massive contributions toward climate change have been a major factor in the rapidly changing temperature and climate conditions in countries such as Benin, Niger and Pakistan.

We might think that our actions don’t have consequences, but around the world people are suffering and none of the major contributing nations even seem to notice, let alone confiscate those who suffer due to our gross over usage of resources. 

Benin and Niger should be a warning to us. If we don’t stop overusing and refuse to address the climate change situation around the world, what is happening there will happen to us. 


E-mail: tmkennel@indiana.edu