Nigeria’s worst floods in a decade displace more than 1.4 million, kill 500

At least 1.4 million people have been displaced and 500 killed in Nigeria in the worst flooding in a decade, which has affected nearly all of Nigeria’s states with 90,000 homes having been partially or completely destroyed, according to Nigerian officials.
The Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, also said on Tuesday (11 October) that more than 1,500 people were injured and that the disaster had an impact on farmland across all but five of Nigeria’s 36 states. It is the worst flooding to be recorded in the West African nation since 2012. Authorities say heavier than normal rainfall and the release of water from a dam in Cameroon are to blame and have promised to help communities cope with the impact. The floods are reported to have wreaked havoc on whole communities of farmers and fishermen, with villages completely submerged and rice, corn and animal farms destroyed.
Thousands of people from one area are often taking refuge on dry land several kilometers away from their homes. But there’s limited access to basic amenities there, and the government’s aid has yet to reach them. Sani-Gwarzo said authorities have approved emergency action to mitigate the impact of the flood nationwide and added that a national emergency response plan will take into account other communities not directly hit by flooding. The National Emergency Management Agency says that so far, it has reached some 300,000 people. Meanwhile, Nigerian weather forecasters have warned that more flooding could be in store.