The Red Cross has reported that two major rivers in central Nigeria have overflowed, forcing tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.
Rescue workers in Kogi State are helping residents move away from the area where the Niger and Benue rivers meet. Many are being taken to displacement camps or nearby villages for safety.
On Friday, Umar Y. Mahmud, the Red Cross disaster management officer in Kogi, said that over 60,000 people were displaced and about 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of land are now underwater.
“The situation is very bad now as the Niger River is rising,” Mahmud explained.
Kogi State’s information commissioner, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, also expressed concern, saying that the displacement camps are becoming “overwhelmed”.
He estimates that over one million people could be affected by the floods in the region.
The flooding has worsened over the past month, affecting densely populated areas, including parts of the state capital, Lokoja. Fanwo also noted that more than three-quarters of the land in Ibaji district has been flooded.
Flooding is common in Nigeria during the rainy season, which runs from May to November. However, there are fears that this year’s floods could be even worse than those in 2022 when over 500 people lost their lives. So far, no deaths have been reported during this flooding.
In September, floods in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in the northeast, resulted in at least 37 deaths.
Authorities and local residents often blame the flood damage on a combination of factors including climate change, poor planning, construction along riverbanks, and the release of water from dams.