Earth News from TerraDaily.com
Tens of thousands flee Nigeria floods
Lagos, Oct 13 (AFP) Oct 13, 2024
Two major rivers have flooded across central Nigeria displacing tens of thousands of people, the Red Cross told AFP.

Rescue workers in Kogi State have been helping residents move away from the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers to displacement camps or nearby villages.

Umar Y Mahmud, the Red Cross disaster management officer in Kogi, said Friday there were more than 60,000 people displaced and about 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of land under water.

"The situation is very bad now as the Niger river is increasing," Mahmud said.

Kogi state's information commissioner Kingsley Femi Fanwo said displacement camps were becoming "overwhelmed" and estimated that more than one million people could be in the affected areas.

The floods have been mounting for the past month, hitting densely populated areas, including parts of the state capital Lokoja.

In Ibaji district, more than three-quarters of the land has been inundated, Fanwo said.

Nigeria often sees floods during the May-to-November rainy season but there are fears this year's could be worse than 2022 when more than 500 people died. No deaths have been reported this time.

Floods in Maiduguri, capital of the northeastern state of Borno, in September, left at least 37 dead.

Officials and residents often blame flood damage on climate change as well as poor planning, construction along riverbanks, and the release of water from dams.





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Study questions assumptions about hidden alien technosignals
Dusty early galaxies shed new light on how the universe built its first giants
New Wenchang lunar pad completes first Long March 10 test

24/7 Energy News Coverage
UCSB scientists bottle the sun with liquid battery
Simulations reveal how plasma flow steers fusion reactor exhaust
US labs map liquid metal path to future fusion power plants

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
BlackSky books major export deal for rapid deployment of Gen-3 imaging satellite
MDA Space forms 49North to expand Canadian defence capabilities
MTN to deliver secure SpaceX government satcom for defense customers

24/7 News Coverage
AI mapping sharpens global view of human development gaps
Satellite radar maps reveal rapid delta land loss
Flights map how aerosols shape Antarctic clouds


ADVERTISEMENT



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.