Recent severe flooding across Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon has affected over 2.7 million people, raising alarms over food insecurity and displacement. In Chad, flooding has destroyed homes and crops, resulting in critical needs for food and shelter. Nigeria faces similar challenges, with substantial farmland damage and many left homeless. Cameroon is also grappling with the aftermath, with fears of waterborne diseases. Calls for urgent humanitarian assistance are underway as climatic conditions worsen.
Severe flooding has recently impacted millions across Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon, following torrential rains that have wreaked havoc on homes and agricultural lands, leading to a heightened risk of hunger in the region. In Chad alone, approximately 1.7 million individuals have been affected, accounting for a significant portion of the 2.7 million total impacted across Central and East Africa. Action Against Hunger is urgently calling for funding to assist the most vulnerable populations in the region, stressing the immediate need for emergency responses that provide food, shelter, and water. In Chad, the relentless rains that commenced in late July have devastated various regions including Lac, Mayo-Kebbi Est, Mandoul, Tandjilé, and Batah provinces, also affecting the influx of refugees from Sudan’s civil war in Sila province. To date, over 500 fatalities have been reported alongside the destruction of more than 210,000 homes and approximately 880,000 acres of crops. With 3.4 million individuals already facing acute food insecurity, the floods pose a dire threat to food security. “The affected populations are facing critical needs for food, drinking water, shelter, health and protection,” stated Gusatve Gnagny, the Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Chad. Meanwhile, Nigeria is also grappling with extensive flooding, particularly in Borno, Adamawa, and other north-eastern states, where tens of thousands have been rendered homeless and food insecure. The capital of Borno State, Maiduguri, has seen 50% of its area flooded, affecting a significant number of residents. Prior to the crisis, more than 32 million people in Nigeria already faced severe food insecurity. “The floods have damaged over 300,000 acres of farmland in Nigeria,” noted Thierno Samba Diallo, Action Against Hunger’s Country Director in the country, indicating the severe implications for food availability in the upcoming months. In Cameroon, over 236,000 individuals have been affected by flooding in the Far North region, and the destruction of more than 30,000 acres of crops raises fears of increasing waterborne illnesses. Pascal Maillard, Country Director of Action Against Hunger in Cameroon, emphasized the pressing need for food, shelter, and mechanisms to preserve sanitation and health. “The general mobilization of the humanitarian community and donors is vital; the emergency is here,” he stated, highlighting the urgency of both immediate and long-term recovery efforts in relation to climate change. As climatic shocks become increasingly frequent, the recent flooding crisis threatens to devastate livelihoods, as families grapple with destruction to farmland and loss of livestock across Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Effective mobilization of resources and community response is essential to alleviating the current humanitarian crisis and promoting resilient recovery in the face of climate challenges.
The current flooding crisis in Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon arises from unprecedented torrential rains that have disrupted the lives of millions. The rains have caused severe flooding across regions, affecting subsistence farming, housing, and sanitation. More than 2.7 million people are reportedly affected, prompting urgent interventions from humanitarian agencies to mitigate the impacts of rising hunger amidst an already critical situation of food insecurity further exacerbated by the climate crisis. Action Against Hunger, a leading humanitarian organization, has intervened in these regions for decades, addressing nutrition, health, and food security. This backdrop underscores the urgency of humanitarian assistance in light of worsening climatic conditions and associated crises.
In summary, the severe flooding that has struck Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon has left millions affected, with dire implications for food security, shelter, and health. Action Against Hunger has underscored the substantial needs for assistance as the flooding has destroyed homes, farmland, and livestock. With the potential for worsening food insecurity amidst ongoing climatic shocks, immediate humanitarian aid is crucial for supporting the affected populations and fostering recovery in the future. The collective action of humanitarian organizations, governments, and donors is essential to address this escalating crisis.
Original Source: www.actionagainsthunger.org
