Nigeria - September 2024

In early September, devastating floods in Nigeria’s Maiduguri region claimed hundreds of lives and displaced nearly half a million people, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region. Heavy rainfall overwhelmed the city’s drainage systems, and the collapse of a dam exacerbated the disaster. Engineers and residents criticized government failures, highlighting inadequate dam maintenance, poor urban planning, and lack of flood mitigation measures. Experts noted that climate change has made extreme weather events more frequent, but poor infrastructure and slow emergency response intensified the impact. The disaster has prompted urgent calls for investment in climate resilience and infrastructure improvements.

Sources: Punch (1), Punch (2), The Africa Report, New York Times