Nigeria floods: Death toll crosses 600 as disastrous floods leave country crippled

Based on the latest toll announced on Sunday, it is now known that more than 600 people died in Nigeria’s worst floods in a decade.

More than 1.3 million people had to leave their homes as a result of the tragedy, according to a tweet from Nigeria’s ministry of humanitarian affairs.

Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq stated that “Unfortunately, over 603 lives have been lost as of today October 16, 2022.”

The previous death toll from the previous week was 500, but the minister stated that the figures had increased in part because certain state governments had not made preparations for the flooding.

According to Umar Farouq, the flooding also entirely damaged more than 82,000 homes and approximately 110,000 hectares (272,000 acres) of agriculture.

The National Emergency Management Agency reported that although the rainy season typically starts in June, it has been particularly heavy since August (NEMA).

In 2012, flooding affected over 2.1 million people and killed 363 individuals.

Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly affected negatively by climate change, and many of its firms are already feeling the effects of the crisis in Russia and Ukraine.

In the 200 million-person country where rice imports are forbidden to increase native output, rice growers have warned that the destructive floods could have an impact on prices.

Nigeria is one of six countries that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme have designated as having a significant risk of suffering from unimaginably high levels of hunger.