In Nigeria, around 500 people died as a result of flooding. The government spoke of the worst flooding this decade. According to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, 1.4 million people have had to leave their homes since the start of the rainy season. Fears of food shortages and worsening inflation are now growing in Africa’s most populous country.
More than 1,500 people were injured in the floods, according to the ministry. Around 45,200 houses are no longer usable, more than 70,500 hectares of arable land have been devastated, it said.
Normally the rainy season starts in June. According to the ministry, most deaths were registered in August and September this year. More heavy rainfall is expected in the coming weeks and months. The rainy season usually ends in November in the north of the country and in December in the south.
In 2012, floods killed 363 people. More than 2.1 million others were displaced from their homes by the floods at the time. The effects of climate change are being felt particularly drastically in sub-Saharan Africa.
