More than 300 people will die fromNigeria's worst floods in ten years, including at least 20 this week, according to authorities, who claim that the situation is "beyond our control."

Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency says that the floods have affected half a million people in 27 of the country's 36 states and the capital city. More than 500 people have been hurt and 100,000 have been forced to leave their homes.

Thousands of hectares of crops have also been damaged by the tragedy, escalating worries that the food supply in Africa's most populous nation will be disrupted.

According to a representative for the disaster management organization, Manzo Ezekiel, "this the number of flood-related deaths] is the greatest we have ever experienced" since 2012.

Why Do Floods Occur In Nigeria?

Every year, flooding occurs in Nigeria, frequently as a result of a lack of infrastructure investment and disregard for environmental regulations.

The flooding this year is being blamed on local river overflows, rains that came out of nowhere, and the release of extra water from the Lagdo dam in the northern part of neighboring Cameroon.

According to the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, "heavy rainfall and contributions from foreign flows" like the dam in Cameroon would cause worse floods in 2022 than they did last year.

The flooding this year is being blamed on local river overflows, rains that came out of nowhere, and the release of extra water from the Lagdo dam in the northern part of neighboring Cameroon.

As two of the nation's dams began to overflow on Monday, Nigeria's disaster management organization warned more than a dozen states of "severe implications" in the coming weeks.

The head of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, said:

Identify safe higher grounds for the evacuation of people; and prepare adequate stockpiles of food and non-food items."

According to Yusuf Sani Babura, director of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, flooding in the north-western Jigawa state has claimed the lives of more than 20 individuals in the past week.

More than any other state in the nation, the state has reported 91 deaths this year as a result of flooding.

Babura stated, "We are dealing with terrible floods that are beyond our control." We gave it our best effort, but we were unable to stop it. "

Concerns have been raised that the floods could hurt the country's food supply even more. Armed conflict in the north-west and center of the country has already destroyed crops, especially in the north, which is where most of the country's food is grown.

Aondongu Kwagh-bee claimed to have recently visited his rice plantation in Benue state and found that a significant downpour had "wiped away everything."

At the moment, nothing is there. The rice has been washed away, and only sand has filled the space, the 30-year-old stated.

Akintunde Babatunde, a climate analyst in Abuja, says that the main reason Nigeria has flooding problems every year is because its roads, drainage, and waste disposal systems aren't good enough.

He asserted that "unusual rainfall is indicative of the changing climate."

Nigeria: Floods impact half a million people, many in northeastern region hard-hit

Consequences

According to Ahmed, more than 100,000 people in 29 states, including the capital Abuja, have been left homeless as a result of the floods, which have claimed more than 300 lives.

According to him, the calamity has severely affected more than 500,000 people and at least 500 individuals have been hurt.

He added that the government had set up temporary camps for some of the flood victims, who had temporarily taken refuge in nearby schools and other buildings.

He said that people have been helped by humanitarian aid, and he also said that diseases like cholera and malaria have spread because of the floods.

Experts on environmental and climate change have cautioned that flooding might affect 53 million people nationwide.

What State Has The Most Affected Citizens?

Jigawa State in northern Nigeria is still experiencing flooding, which has a greater humanitarian impact.

At least 50 individuals have passed away in Jigawa since the start of the rainy season, according to reports from NEMA and the media in Nigeria.

Floods have destroyed a lot of homes, buildings, farms, animals, and other property. As a result, hundreds of families have been moved to 11 temporary camps.