DAKAR, Oct 20, (Xinhua): Flooding along the Senegal River has affected 774 households and nearly 55,600 people, the Senegalese government said in a statement on Saturday.

The floods have inundated 1,002 hectares of farmland, with major crops such as chili (49.19%), rice (21.59%), and maize (10.56%) severely damaged, it said.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has been visiting the southeast Kedougou region since Friday, made an aerial assessment of the affected areas and visited Bakel in the east to express solidarity with the affected communities.

In response, Faye has allocated 8 billion CFA francs (about 13.3 million US dollars) for the initial relief effort, the presidency said on Friday. Additionally, the government has initiated long-term measures to prevent future flooding, including building resilient infrastructure such as dykes, upgrading roads, repairing bridges and other critical infrastructure, it added.