More than 600 people are now known to have died in Nigeria’s worst floods in a decade, according to a new toll published on Sunday. The disaster has also displaced more than 1.3 million people, according to a statement posted on Twitter by Nigeria’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
“Unfortunately, more than 603 lives have been lost as of today, October 16, 2022,” said Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq. The previous toll from last week was 500, but the numbers have risen in part because some state governments did not prepare for the floods, the minister said.
The floods also completely destroyed more than 82,000 houses and nearly 110,000 hectares (272,000 acres) of agricultural land, Umar Farouq said. While the rainy season usually starts around June, rainfall has been particularly heavy since August, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. In 2012, 363 people died and more than 2.1 million were displaced by floods.
Sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change, and many of its economies are already dealing with the knock-on effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. Rice producers have warned that the devastating floods could impact prices in the country of around 200 million people, where rice imports are banned to stimulate local production. The World Food Program and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said last month that Nigeria was among six countries facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.
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