Displaced by flooding, Nigerians in desperate need of help

It was pitch black when the waters came, forcing mother Fortune Lawrence and her eight children to jump on a makeshift boat and flee their house.

For the past two weeks, they have been living in dire conditions near Ahoada, in Rivers state, in a school now crowded with more than a thousand people displaced by Nigeria's worst floods in a decade.

"I was afraid to die in the water," said Lawrence, surrounded by other families. "Here, we have nothing. Not enough food, no diapers, no mosquito nets."

Flooding is frequent during Nigeria's rainy season but this year, more than 600 people have died and 1.3 million others were forced to leave their homes, according to the latest government figures.

In southern Rivers state, one of the worst affected, informal camps have popped up for those who managed to escape.

Some people are still stuck in flooded towns and villages, according to resident Obed Onyekachi.

There was "no way they could cross and come here," said the 32-year-old, with anger in his voice. "How many of our brothers have been swallowed by the water, have gone missing?"

"Crops have been destroyed. We have no hope anymore. We will have to face starvation."

- Contaminated water -

Travelling across the state is a challenging task and makes it difficult to deliver aid.

On the main road, a tank truck has tipped over in the floods, and residents said several people had died in the area, where there are strong currents.

Others have managed to cross, wading through waist-deep water.

Alamin Mohamed, 25, was trying to travel on his motorbike, but said he had been stuck on the road for seven days.

"We don't know how much time it will last," he said.

The roof of a church could be seen poking out from the murky waters, between high voltage power lines. Wooden rafts have been ferrying large groups of people around.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Nigeria, Fred Kafeero, warned this week that the floods had increased the risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera.

At a primary school in Ihuike, a community in Ahoada, displaced people are lying on the floor, squeezed against one another. There are around 50 people in each classroom.

A group of local volunteers are cleaning and dividing the meagre food supplies received from local authorities.

"We need a clean environment. We are really careful but we are exhausted. Even the water from the well is contaminated," said one volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous.

- Health risks -

Ten days ago, the governor of Rivers state, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, approved one billion naira (about $2.3 million) for emergency relief measures for flood victims.

Still, the needs are immense. In one of the informal camps, women told AFP they did not have anything for menstrual hygiene. "We have no tissue for that," one woman said.

At the entrance to the camp, children stood in line, waiting to be seen by women wearing surgical gloves.

They were getting an oral HIV test, explained nurse Bukky Chika Emeyi. In case of a positive result, they will need a blood test in hospital.

"Their living conditions are bad. The risk of transmission is high," said the 27-year-old, who works with the local charity IHVN.

"Women are giving birth, helped by other women who are not trained, not educated, and using unsterilised tools."

South Sudan floods leave 75,000 refugees without food: UN
Geneva (AFP) Oct 21, 2022 - The devastating floods in South Sudan have blocked aid from reaching displaced people, the UN said Friday, warning that a camp housing 75,000 Sudanese refugees would receive no food this month.

The world's newest nation is reeling from four consecutive years of flooding, with two-thirds of the country and more than 900,000 people now directly impacted by the floodwaters, according to the United Nations.

The UN refugee agency said this was taking a dire toll on its ability to deliver aid to displaced people.

UNHCR "is urging international support for humanitarian efforts in South Sudan in the face of record-breaking rains and floods," spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told reporters in Geneva.

In Mabah, in Upper Nile state, trucks carrying food and other relief items had been unable to reach the Doro refugee camp, he said.

"This means that October's rations will not reach the 75,000 Sudanese refugees living there," he warned.

This comes after trucks carrying last month's rations to the camp were stuck on the road for weeks, forcing UNHCR to eventually airlift the supplies to the camp.

"There are not enough funds to do this again," Cheshirkov said, warning that many in the camp could go hungry.

In oil-rich Unity state -- one of the worst-hit regions -- the capital Benitu has meanwhile "become an island surrounded by floodwaters," he said.

"All roads in and out are impassable and only boats and the airstrip serve as lifelines for humanitarian aid to reach 460,000 people already displaced by a mix of both flooding and conflict."

Rising water levels breached dykes in two places on Sunday, threatening to flood camps for internally displaced people as well as a base for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

In a bid to keep more dykes from collapsing, Cheshirkov said people were now "working around the clock with pumps, buckets, excavators and heavy machinery to keep the water at bay."

"Needs are surging for food, shelter, water, and sanitation supplies as stocks of basic items are running out."

Almost 200 dead as Niger floods toll rises
Niamey (AFP) Oct 22, 2022 - Flooding caused by torrential rain in Niger has left 195 people dead and affected more than 322,000, an official toll showed on Saturday.

This year's rainy season is one of the deadliest in the West African country's history.

As of October 21, 59 people had drowned and 136 had died in collapsing homes, while 211 people were reported injured, according to figures from the Civil Protection Service seen by AFP.

Earlier this month it said rainy-season floods had claimed 192 lives and affected more than 263,000 people in Niger, located in the heart of the arid Sahel.

The rains have damaged more than 30,000 homes, 83 classrooms, six health centres and 235 grain stores.

The worst-affected regions are Maradi and Zinder in the centre of the country, Dosso in the southwest and Tahoua in the west.

The rainy season, which starts in June and can last until October, regularly claims lives, but the toll has been particularly heavy this year.

In 2021, 70 people were killed and 200,000 people were affected. The death toll in 2020 was 73.

In neighbouring Nigeria, more than 600 people have died since June in the deadliest floods in a decade.

"According to all our studies, we can link these rains to climate change," head of the national meteorological agency Katiellou Gaptia Lawan told AFP.

The "rainfall is intense", while runoff water can no longer make its way into the soil because it has been "degraded by human activity", he explained.

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