Nigeria: Heavy floods force 23,000 people to flee their villages

Nigeria: Reportedly, 23,000 people have fled from their homes in the southeastern part of Niger due to severe floods that have caused damage in the month of October. According to the concerned officials, consistent downpours have caused the Komadougou Yobe river that moves through the Diffa region into Lake Chad to cause it to overflow alongside immersing villages, flooding fields, and destroying crops.

A dire situation in Nigeria

Two villages close to the city of Diffra were totally submerged and 2,500 families were forced to relocate to safe areas. It was reported that about 400 of the affected families were taking shelter in a gym in the city. A farmer stated that their efforts to stop the water from rising were in vain as the sandbags they had used to keep the water out were completely submerged underwater.

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Although severe weather conditions are a common occurrence in Nigeria, about 57 people have lost their lives and more than 1,30,000 people were affected as they were rendered homeless due to consistent rains and flooding of areas. The capital city of Niamey was subject to rising water levels in the Niger river that further led to flooding in a few parts of the city and was also termed as a very unusual experience in nearly 50 years.

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Jihadist violence prompted a dire situation

In 2018, drought and flooding prompted shortages in the food supply in the affected areas, which led to 10% of the population in need of proper humanitarian aid. Jihadist orchestrated violence was also tagged as one of the most important causes for the shortage in food supply. Niger, alongside Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania are likewise battling against an increasing number of assaults by Islamists.

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In addition to the above-mentioned problem, a report by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), states that the Diffa district is home to just about 120,000 refugees and 109,000 homeless citizens who have either relocated due to floods or have fled their homes due to the violence caused by extremists.

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