The floods have also destroyed 212,111 houses, flooded 357,832 hectares (885,000 acres) of fields and drowned 69,659 heads of cattle, said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad.
All of the country's provinces had been hit, Chad's water and energy minister Marcelin Kanabe Passale told journalists Saturday morning, warning of more trouble to come.
"The waters of the Logone and Chari rivers have reached a critical height likely to cause obvious serious flooding in the coming days," Passale said.
N'Djamena, Chad's capital, is located where the Logone and Chari rivers flow into each other.
Passale recommended that all water from private wells be treated with chlorine before consumption.
A flood-monitoring committee had been set up to "assess the risks associated with the pollution of drinking water supplies and rising river levels", he added.
The UN had already warned in early September of the impact of "torrential rains and severe flooding" in the wider region, particularly in Chad.
It called for immediate action and funding to tackle climate change.
- Regional catastrophe -
With the rainy season at its height, Chad is just one of many countries in west and central Africa hit by flooding in recent weeks after torrential rains.
The rising waters have affected more than four million people across 14 different countries, the World Food Programme warned on September 17.
Near the Chad and Nigerian borders, northern Cameroon is experiencing 125 percent more rainfall than normal for the season, according to a OCHA report published in mid-September.
The UN estimates that 20 people have died and more than 236,000 have been affected in Cameroon since the end of August.
In neighbouring Nigeria, massive floods that have hit the northeastern city of Maiduguri claimed at least 30 lives and forced 400,000 people from their homes, officials said.
Since the start of the rainy season in Africa's most populous country, floods have killed 229 people and displaced more than 380,000 people, according to National Emergency Management Agency figures.
Outbreaks of flooding are far from unusual in the region's often heavy rainy season.
But scientists have long warned that climate change driven by man-made fossil fuel emissions is causing more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting periods of extreme weather.
With a slew of record temperatures, heatwaves, drought and severe flooding, this summer has been the hottest ever recorded globally.
Floods delay new school year in Niger
Niamey, Niger (AFP) Sept 20, 2024 -
Niger's government says heavy rains and flooding have forced the start of the new school year to be delayed by nearly a month.
Torrential downpours have lashed the vast West African nation since June, killing scores and affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
The military-led Sahelian country is among areas of central and west Africa suffering heavy flooding amid an unusually intense rainy season.
The government announced it had pushed the first day of school -- planned for October 2 -- back to October 28 for the country's nearly 4.5 million pupils.
"Several schools have been impacted, others (are) occupied by those affected," a government round-up read out on state television said late Thursday.
In central-southern Maradi, the most severely hit region, around 100 tents have been erected to accommodate people in schools.
According to the latest interior ministry figures from September 4, 273 people have been killed, 121 of whom drowned and 152 who died due to collapsing homes.
Heavy rains have affected more than 700,000 people, authorities said early this month.
More than 9,700 tonnes of grain were made available this month to people living in eight flood-affected regions, the government said, adding that "the situation is under control".
A popular mid-19th century mosque made from earth and straw in Niger's second biggest city, Zinder, collapsed in the torrential rains early this month.
Concern is also rife in the northern city of Agadez, known as the gateway to the desert, about damage caused to its historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Normally lasting from June to September, Niger's rainy season often exacts a heavy toll, with 195 people dying in 2022.
Scientists have long warned that climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions is making extreme weather events such as floods more frequent, intense and longer-lasting.
Two dead, 14 missing as Morocco flood sweeps away bus
Rabat (AFP) Sept 21, 2024 -
Floods in southern Morocco have swept away a bus, leaving two passengers dead and 14 others missing, local authorities said Saturday.
Torrential rains earlier this month triggered floods that killed at least 18 people in areas of southern Morocco that straddle the Sahara desert.
Regional authorities in Tata province said heavy rainstorms late Friday led to "exceptional" floods that caused houses to collapse and swept away the bus.
A statement which gave the toll of dead and missing said 13 others were rescued.
The rare heavy rains come as the North African kingdom grapples with its worst drought in nearly 40 years, threatening its economically crucial agriculture sector.
Morocco is one of the world's most water-stressed nations, with frequent droughts affecting a third of the population employed in agriculture.
Experts say climate change is making extreme weather, such as storms and droughts, more frequent and intense.
For water levels in dams to rise and groundwater to replenish, experts say the rains would need to continue over a longer period of time.
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