Chad’s military ruler, Mahamat Idriss Déby, has declared a state of emergency due to exceptional flooding affecting more than a million people.
In a televised speech, the general said heavy rains had hit three-quarters of the country, submerged nearly 5,000 sq km (1,930 sq miles) of fields and killed thousands of cattle.
Floods are not uncommon during Chad’s rainy season but this year they came early and were the heaviest in decades.
Chad is the world’s third-poorest country, according to the United Nations’ Human Development Index.
