Two-Thirds of Benin Is Underwater

The U.N. has begun flying tents into the West African country of Benin to shelter some of the hundreds of thousands of people chased from their homes by heavy flooding after months of heavy rains. Adding to the misery is an outbreak of cholera. —JCL

The BBC:

The UN refugee agency is to start an emergency airlift of tents to the West African nation of Benin this week, amid the worst flooding there in decades.

Some 3,000 tents will be flown in from Denmark to provide shelter for some of the estimated 680,000 people affected.

Two-thirds of Benin has suffered from months of heavy rain, and about 800 cases of cholera have been reported.

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AP / Salako Valentin

People board canoes in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city, in early October as water overwhelms a drainage canal.