Floods in Chad, July 2024

Floods in Chad have started earlier than usual in 2024. The Data in Emergencies (DIEM) team at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) examined satellite images following the floods in Chad in July 2024 to understand the impact and monitor the ongoing situation. This StoryMap provides an assessment of the potential impact of the flooding on agricultural production and livelihoods in Chad. Key highlights Heavy rainfall and flooding occurred earlier than usual this year and climate forecasts predict a continuation of this situation into August 2024. The rapid increase in the extent of flooding due to atypical weather conditions accompanied by heavy rainfall could mean a difficult 2024 rainy period. According to satellite-based findings, more than 600 000 ha on 17 July 2024, and over 1 million ha of land were flooded as of 1 August 2024. This is almost twice as many as the same period in 2022 and 2023, which were 493 000 ha and 545 000 ha respectively. The floods mainly affected Salamat, Tandjilé, Lac and Mayo Kebbi Est provinces in order. The most affected departments were Bahr-Azoum and Haraze-Mangueigne in Salamat; Tandjilé Est, Centre and Ouest in Tandjilé; Fouli and Mamdi in Lac; and Mayo-Boneye in Mayo-Kebbi Est. More than 57 000 ha of cropland were potentially affected by flooding on 17 July 2024 and this figure tripled to 157 000 ha on 1 August 2024. The most affected cropland areas in terms of ha were found in Tandjile Ouest, Salamat, Kabia and Mayo-Boneye provinces in order, with the addition of Logone Occdental and Logone Oriental on 1 August 2024. Tandjile Est-Centre-Ouste, Bahr-Azoum, Mayo-Boneye, Ngourkosso and La Pendé departments were the most affected ones in the overall assessment. July is very important for agricultural production in Chad, as it corresponds to the sowing period for maize, millet, rice and sorghum. The most affected livelihood zone was Southwest rice indicating that rice sowing may be impacted by the heavy floods.