In Nigeria, Floods Are Submerging Entire Houses. At Least 80 People Have Died While Attempting To Flee.

Seventy-six people were killed when their boat capsized as they attempted to flee dangerously high floodwaters that had inundated swaths of southern Nigeria.

On Friday, a boat carrying more than 80 people capsized in the southeastern state of Anambra, as people desperately tried to flee floodwaters as high as rooftops.

According to the country’s National Emergency Management Agency, recent flooding in the area has displaced up to 600,000 people (NEMA).

According to NEMA’s report from last month, this year’s devastating floods in Nigeria have killed at least 300 people and affected more than 500,000 others. Three of Nigeria’s overflowing reservoirs were anticipated to burst, according to NEMA, which issued a warning about more devastating floods for states along the Niger and Benue rivers.

According to representatives of the Kogi Red Cross Society, structures in the adjoining north-central Kogi state were flooded under water that reached levels that had not been seen in a decade a week before the tragic events in Anambra.

In Kogi’s worst-hit Ibaji district, which state governor Yahaya Bello claimed was “100% underwater,” at least six fatalities were confirmed, including a toddler.

In response to this appeal, Nigerian officials are working with their African allies to increase climate funds before the COP27 climate summit in Egypt next month.