Floods caused 396 people's deaths in 2024, says Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba.
405 people were injured and over 200,000 households – with a total of approximately 1.5 million people – were affected, he adds.
Researchers have long warned that human-induced climate changes increase the likelihood of extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall and severe drought periods.
Long periods of drought in Africa's Sahel region make it difficult for the earth to absorb rain, and the risk of flooding increases. In the oasis city of Agadez in central Niger, a historic city district listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, including a mosque from the 1500s, was damaged last year.
Parts of the country received up to 200 percent more rainfall than previous years, according to the country's meteorological authority.
