The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is on the ground in Borno State, providing emergency food assistance to communities affected by massive flooding in northeast Nigeria, which has displaced over 230,000 people.
WFP is working to provide hot meals to 50,000 of the worst affected children, women, and men who have lost their homes in what has been described as the worst flooding in northeast Nigeria in 30 years, the UN agency said in a statement.
The devastating floods occurred when a dam near Maiduguri collapsed due to torrential rains, forcing the river water to overflow 50 percent of the capital city of Borno State. The State Government has issued evacuation orders to residents in the affected areas while appealing for humanitarian support.
“Maiduguri is facing a crisis within a crisis, with conflict, record food price inflation and now floods displacing hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom were already cut off from their farms,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Country Director and Representative.
WFP has established food kitchens in three camps – Teachers’ Village, Asheikh, and Yerwa – to provide meals to flood-hit people over the next two weeks. The kitchens offer nutritious cooked rice and beans to affected families. Specialised nutritious foods are also provided to children, pregnant women and nursing mothers to cover their nutritional needs. However, additional assistance will be critical to restore stability and support recovery.
WFP swiftly dispatched UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) helicopters to conduct an interagency aerial assessment of damage in Maiduguri and its surroundings. The rapid evaluation showed that the immediate needs of the affected people include food, shelter, and clean water.
“What we have seen from the air is just terrible. Thousands of people are on the streets or staying with friends and relatives. The city has been hit by massive destruction of properties and livelihoods. We need urgent global support to save lives,” Stevenson added.
In Nigeria, over 800,000 people in 29 states have been affected by floods since September 2024, and over 550,000 hectares of cropland have been flooded. Some 32 million people in the country are already facing acute hunger, according to the March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis.
WFP urgently needs US$147.9 million to ensure continued support for the next six months to flood-affected people in Maiduguri and other food-insecure people in the northeast.
