Nigeria floods: Death toll has passed 600, says government

Nigeria has been hit by the worst floods in a decade. According to a new toll released on Sunday (October 16), more than 600 people have died in the devastating floods.

More than 1.3 million people had to leave their homes as a result of the tragedy, according to a tweet from Nigeria's ministry of humanitarian affairs.

Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq said, "Unfortunately, over 603 lives have been lost as of today October 16, 2022."

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The previous death toll from last week was 500, but the minister stated that the figures had increased in part. The official added that some state governments had not made preparations for the flooding.

According to Umar Farouq, more than 82,000 homes and approximately 110,000 hectares of farmland were entirely destroyed by the water.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that although the rainy season typically starts in June, it has been particularly heavy since August.

As per last month's by the World Food Programme and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, Nigeria was among six countries facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.

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