Nigerian officials estimate that over 500 people are still missing and presumed dead, according to news reports.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, a former Nigerian Government minister, said she was heartbroken at the extent of the loss and damage.

“My deepest condolences to all those affected – especially the families who have lost loved ones. My prayers are with you,” she said.

UN relief operation 

United Nations agencies and partners are working alongside the Nigerian Government to provide essential humanitarian aid to individuals and households in Niger State who have been affected.

Beginning 29 May, heavy rains in the Local Government Area of Mokwa – known as a trading hub – prompted flash flooding which flattened entire neighbourhoods.

Hundreds were killed, thousands displaced and key roads and bridges were damaged, disrupting movement and economic activity.

Nigeria’s rainy season extends from April-October, making it particularly prone to flooding, which has become more severe in recent years.

Climate change factor

In 2024, a flood in September killed 230 people in Borno state in eastern Nigeria and displaced over 600,000 people. In 2022, severe flooding across the country impacted 34 out of the 36 states, killed hundreds and displaced more than 1.3 million.

A recent report from the UN weather agency (WMO) said the worsening severity is related to climate change and increasing surface and water temperatures, all of which is taking a high toll throughout the African continent.

Agencies on the ground

According to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric Nigerian authorities are leading recovery efforts and UN agencies and partners are providing supplementary assistance.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing to ship medicine and medical equipment to supplement and support existing primary care systems.

For their part, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is providing materials for temporary shelter and other non-essential food items.

The UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) is working to establish temporary clinics and safe spaces for women and girls displaced by the flooding. In these spaces, women can access maternal and reproductive health services, dignity kits and psychosocial assistance. UNFPA is also working to deploy midwives and nurses.

Mohammed M. Malik Fall, resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, commended Government efforts to respond to the humanitarian situation in Mokwa and said that the UN “stands ready to support the response.”

Zeenat and her husband, Moamen Abu Asr, live with their children in a flimsy canvas tent, one of thousands that now line Gaza’s coastline. 

Once a place of rest and leisure, the beach has become a last refuge for Palestinians displaced by relentless Israeli bombardment and military operations.

As displacement orders push people into ever smaller pockets of land, the strip of coast around Gaza’s seaport has turned into a makeshift camp. Its frayed tents and overcrowded conditions reflect the gravity of a humanitarian crisis that has plunged to unprecedented depths after more than 600 days of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas.

The seaport, once a centre of Gaza’s fishing economy, is now a wasteland. All the boats have been destroyed, and in their place stands a sprawling encampment – a harsh and barren environment with almost none of the basic necessities for survival.

A family with nothing left

Moamen and his family have been living in the camp for around two months, surviving in a tent cobbled together from salvaged mats and broken utensils recovered from nearby rubble.

He sits outside with his children, scrolling through pictures on his phone – fragments of a past life left behind in Shujaiya, east of Gaza City, when residents were ordered to evacuate without warning.

“There have been times when we’ve been displaced once every two months,” he told UN News. “Every day is suffering for us. We came to Gaza port with no food, no water – not even our iron tent.”

“There is nothing of life’s basics for us,” he said. To feed his family, Moamen repairs small water tanks for five shekels – about $1.43 – barely enough for anything in a place where prices have soared. “One kilo of flour is a hundred shekels [around $28.60],” he explained. “Our situation is very difficult, and we do not know what to do. By God, this is not life. We would rather die.”

Flies hover over one of the Abu Asr family’s sleeping children in their tent in Gaza.

‘We live on water’

The humanitarian situation has worsened since March, when Israeli authorities imposed a complete blockade on aid. Though this was slightly eased in recent weeks, the limited trickle of supplies cannot meet the overwhelming demand. Desperate civilians, starving and fearful, have resorted to looting whatever aid does arrive.

In their tent, Zeenat washes a few cooking utensils – all she could find in the communal makeshift kitchen. Most days, there is no food to prepare.

“Yesterday I cried a lot about my son,” she said. “He told me, ‘Mum, I want to eat.’ I stood helpless, not knowing what to do. The food didn’t come from the charity kitchen. We now live on fresh water. I recommend it to my children to help fill their stomachs. Today, thank God, we got a plate of food and ate it.”

Zeinat Abu Asr describes the hardship her family is facing in Gaza.

‘Enough is enough’

Conditions in the tent are dire. Flies swarm everywhere, and stray dogs – thin and hungry – prowl nearby. “Yesterday, a dog came into the tent and was pulling on a tarpaulin while my son was sleeping. I thought it was pulling my baby. I screamed and my husband kicked the dog out.”

“We don’t know where to go or what to do. They uprooted us. Our hearts are extinguished. We can’t be patient anymore. Our patience has run out.”

The tents scattered along Gaza’s coastline are a stark symbol of the deepening humanitarian tragedy. The cries of hunger are louder than any voice of hope. There is no shelter left – only the sea remains.

Nothing encapsulates the despair more than Zeenat’s final plea: “Let the war end. Give us a break. Otherwise, let all countries come together and drop a nuclear bomb on us and end our misery, because we are tired of this life. Enough is enough.”

Philippe Lazzarini posted on social media saying that aid distribution “has become a death trap,” citing reports from international medical staff on the ground and local health authorities who reported at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured as civilians were lining up to receive aid from the Israel and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which bypasses existing aid agencies.

‘Humiliating system’

“A distribution point by the Israeli-American plan was put far south in Rafah,” Mr. Lazzarini said on X.

“This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli army.”

He said aid delivery and distribution “must be at scale and safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.”

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which uses private contractors and involves Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to secure its sites – has strongly denied that civilians were fired on, accusing Hamas militants of misinformation.

Disputed events

The IDF said on social media that reports of them firing towards residents receiving aid from the foundation were false: “Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site.”

The IDF posted video which it said showed gunmen shooting at civilians collecting aid, adding that “Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza.”

Medical staff at Nasser hospital in nearby Khan Younis told media outlets that around 79 people were admitted on Sunday, mostly with gunshot wounds, along with the bodies of some of those killed. Journalists on the scene posted video footage of bodies being carried on carts along with wounded arrivals.

‘Lift the siege’

UNRWA chief Lazzarini called on Israel to lift the three-month old aid blockade and allow safe and unhindered access. “This is the only way to avert mass starvation including among one million children.”

Highlighting the difficulties of clearly establishing facts on the ground due to Israel’s ban on international media from entering the Gaza Strip, the UNRWA chief said that amid competing narratives and “disinformation campaigns in full gear,” the ban on eyewitness reporting must be lifted immediately.