More than 600 people have died in flooding in Nigeria since June. It is the deadliest flooding in decades in the West African country. According to a new government balance sheet, 1.3 million people have already had to leave their homes.
Since the start of the rainy season, heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc in many regions of Nigeria. Meanwhile, there are fears of food shortages and the impact of inflation.
“Unfortunately, more than 603 lives have been lost,” the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs reported on Twitter. That’s a hundred more victims in a week. There were also 2,400 injured in the floods.
The ministry concludes that the number of victims has risen “astronomically” because many states in the federal country are not prepared for such heavy rainfall. As a result, more than 82,000 homes have been destroyed. There is also talk of 110,000 hectares of destroyed agricultural land.
The rainy season started in June, but the floods have been taking a heavy human toll since August, according to the national disaster management agency. A ship accident in the southeastern state of Anambra killed 76 people last week. The ship capsized on the Niger due to flooding in the region.
