Mali declares state of national disaster with 30 killed in floods

Mali declared a state of national disaster on Friday over floods that have killed 30 people and affected over 47,000 others since the start of the rainy season, the council of ministers said in a statement.

According to Reuters, most years, the West and Central Africa region sees floods of varying severity between June and September, when rains sweep through the Sahel belt of countries along the southern fringes of the Sahara desert.

Flooding has affected over 716,000 people across the region so far this season, which is forecast to bring above-average cumulative rainfall, the UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, said in mid-August.

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Urgent relief assistance to those affected by floods resulting from heavy rains in Mali and Niger has been implemented by Dubai Charity Association. The relief aid included a package of foodstuffs, a medical convoy to treat malaria, and the construction of huts.

The aid has benefited affected families in the town of Bla in the Ségou region of Mali and the village of Shentberdine in the Tawa state of Niger.