2008 Benin floods crisis." The flooding increased the risk of Meningitis and yellow fever as well as posing a threat to an estimated 5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in West Africa. Malaria, diarrhoeal and respiratory infections, and malnutrition posed a threat to the population living along the river basins. 2008 Benin floods The 2008 Benin floods struck the nation of Benin between July and October 2008, and affected the other West African nations of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Togo. According to the Red Cross of Benin, the flooding in Benin initially affected almost 7,000 people, including the displacement of 1,560
Benin north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south is about . Although the coastline measures , the country measures about at its widest point. Benin shows little variation in elevation and can be divided into four areas from the south to the north, starting with the low-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation ) which is, at most, wide. It is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons communicating with the ocean. Behind the coast lies the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic-covered plateaus of southern Benin (altitude between ), which are split by valleys running north to south along the Couffo, Zou, and