According to a revised 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 as of today, October 16, 2022, “about 603 lives have sadly been lost.” 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, more than 82,000 homes and approximately 110,000 hectares (272,000 acres) of farmland were entirely destroyed by the water.
Although the rainy season typically starts in June, the National Emergency Management Agency reported that the rainfall has been particularly heavy since August (NEMA). Climate change has an outsized impact on Sub-Saharan Africa, and many of its businesses are already experiencing hardship due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The 200 million-person nation where rice imports are prohibited to boost domestic output has received a warning from rice growers that the disastrous floods could have an impact on prices. Nigeria is one of six nations with a high risk of experiencing a food crisis, according to the World Food Programme and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
