Attachments
TIMELINE
September 2024: Exceptionally heavy rainfall across the country leads to widespread floods. Additionally, the collapse of the Alua dam in Maiduguri further worsens the situation.
September 2024: The Nigerian Red Cross Society requests international support to respond to the needs of communities affected by the floods.
September 2024: The IFRC allocates CHF 231,293 from the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF), which was increased to CHF 1,000,000 in September to reflect the increased severity and impact of the floods.
September 2024: The IFRC issues an Emergency Appeal for CHF 10 million to support 400,000 people.
October 2024: The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in collaboration with various UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Red Cross movement and state governments, conducted joint floods assessments in 19 riverine states and states neighbouring them across Nigeria to inform the flood response
November 2024: Southern states in Nigeria experience flooding as water released in Cameroon Dam to river Benue merges with Niger river leading to exceptional high volumes of water downstream. Joint assessment in the remaining floods affected states initiated. WASH ERU deployed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
Nigeria has been impacted by devastating floods that have severely affecting multiple states, marking a significant escalation compared to previous years and underscoring a growing humanitarian crisis. The scale of the destruction is unprecedented, further exacerbating an already challenging economic and security (in some states) situation.
Between July and October 2024, 34 states across the country experienced exceptionally high rainfall, compounded by the collapse of the Alau Dam in the Maiduguri area of Borno State, worsening an already critical humanitarian situation. Furthermore, release of water from Lagdo dam in Cameroon has exacerbated the situation leading to additional displacement and destruction in riverine states down south of the country. The widespread flooding has led to bridge collapses, school closures, and restricted access to hospitals and markets. The resulting devastation has caused extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, crops, and shelters, critically disrupting livelihoods and displacing thousands of households.
According to the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and UNOCHA, Nigeria is facing a major humanitarian crisis due to flooding, affecting 34 states and 211 local government areas. Over 4 million people have been affected, with more than 300 lives lost and over 2,854 injured. Over 729,000 people were displaced during the floods across the country, bringing with them only light belongings, and now living in deplorable conditions, with insufficient safeguards and exposed to heightened protection risks.
Roughly over 300,000 people lived in collective shelters or internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, hosted by relatives, in places of worship or schools, or temporarily in higher grounds within their communities. Authorities have already closed some of the temporary camps and set timelines for the remaining few. Households whose home were swept away are still seeking shelter in open grounds are exposed to effects of element. Over 194,637 hectares of cultivated farmland were affected by the floods, foreshadowing severe humanitarian consequences.
The floods have washed away entire villages and settlements, especially in rural and peri-urban areas where houses were largely made of mud, bamboo, and other materials unable to withstand the flooding, leaving them highly vulnerable. As people were forced to abandon their homes, they also left behind most of their personal belongings and livelihoods, losing access to basic hygiene items and food. The floods will undoubtedly aggravate an already fragile food security situation for many households.
Pre-existing health issues, such as cholera and acute watery disease (AWD), have been exacerbated by the floods, further worsened by the lack of drainage, waste management, and appropriate sanitation. These flood conditions create a conducive environment for the spread of waterborne, vector-borne, infectious, and respiratory diseases. With water points contaminated, maintaining proper hygiene has become nearly impossible.
The medium-term impact remains unclear, but the risk of epidemics is high (Nigeria has already experienced a spike in cholera this year). According to WHO, as of 27th October 2024, Nigeria reported 17,139 suspected cholera cases, including 603 deaths (case fatality rate of 3.5 per cent) across 36 states. A sharp rise in case was recorded soon after floods impacted the nation, standing at 220% in suspected cases so far recorded in the year, while fatality rate has risen to over 106 per cent deaths compared to the same period in 2023.