Environment

Youth homelessness has risen 40% in five years, says UK charity

Youth homeless in the UK has increased by an estimated two-fifths in five years, rising to more than 120,000, a leading charity director has warned, as fresh analysis suggests that black households are likely to be disproportionally affected

Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, said its estimates show 86,000 young people in the UK presented to their local authority as homeless or at risk in 2016/17, and that the figure increased to 121,000 in 2019-20.

Obakin expressed fears that youth homelessness would worsen as a result of the pandemic, with Centrepoint’s helpline receiving a record number of calls since the start of the crisis. He also believes young black Britons will probably be disproportionally affected.

His warnings come as Guardian analysis shows that although England’s black population stands at about 3.5%, black households make up 10% of those that are homeless or at risk of homelessness, according to data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for the year 2020-21.

In London, black households represent 30% of those owed homelessness prevention or homelessness relief by their local authorities, despite making up just 12.5% of London’s population.

In the Guardian analysis, homelessness, and being at risk of homelessness, is defined by whether a local authority owes prevention or relief duty to a household. The data is not broken down by age.

“It is not surprising that black households are overrepresented in official homelessness statistics, but this does not mean we should tolerate it. Without a home, children’s development and educational attainment suffers and it becomes harder to find a job or stay healthy or maintain relationships that enable people to thrive,” Obakin said.

Obakin said that Centrepoint saw a third more calls to the helpline since the start of pandemic, with huge surges of demand around local lockdowns. He pinned this increase down to the multiple crisis disproportionally affecting young people, from mental health issues to high unemployment, and urged the government to intervene.

“The problem is worse than it was a decade ago and it’s actually worse than it was two years ago,” Obakin said. “It is heartbreaking to see the range of complex issues that young people are presenting with is also getting wider. That in a way is a mirror of what’s happening in society itself.”

He said racial disparities in youth unemployment, with analysis showing black youth employment was more than three times higher than among their white counterparts, had a knock-on effect on youth homelessness. “We know from our data that about three-fifths of young people who seek help from Centrepoint are from ethnically diverse backgrounds,” he added.

He fears the problem will worsen now the government has pushed ahead with its planned cuts to universal credit, which he describes as a vital safety net. “That safety net is what is being cut. So I worry young black people will be disproportionately affected,” he said.

Obakin said that through the newly created DLUHC, the government has a “tremendous opportunity” to not only tackle rough sleeping, “but to go beyond and ensure that those who are homeless, or face homelessness are given the support and services they need before they have to sleep rough. That is good for the people, and it is also good for the taxpayer.”

A DLUHC spokesperson said: “The government is helping prevent more young people from becoming homeless, and this year we’ve invested £750m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

“During the pandemic we made huge progress to bring rough sleepers off the streets, helping over 37,000 people into safe and secure accommodation, including 26,000 who have already moved into longer-term accommodation.”

Environment

259 die in flood disaster – NEMA

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reported that 1,048,312 people have been affected by flooding in Nigeria between April and September 2024.

The Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, disclosed this at the National Emergency Coordination Forum (ECF) in Abuja on Thursday.

Umar stated that 625,239 persons had been displaced and 259 lives lost to the disaster. She commiserated with those affected and assured them that the Federal Government, through NEMA, would provide necessary support. She said the main reason for convening the meeting was to receive updates on the flood situation and assign roles and responsibilities to stakeholders.

Umar noted that although flooding could not be totally prevented, efforts were being made to mitigate its impact.

According to the D-G, 29 states and 172 local government areas have been impacted by flooding, affecting 1,048,312 people, displacing 625,239, and resulting in 259 deaths. She emphasized the need for a coordinated response to the disaster.

“NEMA has activated Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in some states and deployed additional staff to support search and rescue operations. The agency has also provided water purification equipment and critical search and rescue tools to affected states.”

Umar appreciated the support of international partners and encouraged them to continue providing assistance while monitoring the situation. She noted that the situation was not yet overwhelming for the Nigerian government to cope with.

The Assistant Director, Search and Rescue, Wagami Madu, presented an update on the flood, reporting seven deaths in Borno as of Saturday. Madu also mentioned challenges in Maiduguri, including inadequate serving materials and wash facilities due to the high number of people in the camp.

Mrs Emmanuela Offiong, Assistant Director, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, stressed the need for proper fact-checking and communication on disaster management to avoid disinformation and misinformation.

Environment

Maiduguri flood is an unprecedented incident- NEMA

Aerial view shows houses submerged under water in Maiduguri on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Audu MARTE / AFP)

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has described Tuesday’s flash flood in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital as an unprecedented incident.

Flood water from an overflowing dam destroyed thousands of homes in the Northeastern Nigeria city, with emergency officials fearing the situation could get worse.

“It is an unprecedented incident,” NEMA spokesman Ezekiel Manzo told AFP on Tuesday. “Some of the central parts of the city that have not witnessed flood in so many years are witnessing it today.”

A general view of flood water surrounding a building in Maiduguri on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Audu MARTE / AFP)
Thousands of homes have been submerged by the rapid rise of waters after the rupture of the Alau dam on the Ngadda River, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Maiduguri.

“The last three days have over 150,000 individuals with over 23,000 households affected,” said NEMA zonal coordinator Surajo Garba.

But with more locations being hit, “we are sure the figure will be much over 200,000 individuals,” Garba forecast.

“The flood, which began over the weekend and worsened in the following days, was the direct result of excess water from the Alau Dam,” said Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who hails from Maiduguri as he visited the area.

“The collapse of the spillways unleashed a significant surge of water downstream, causing widespread flooding in the surrounding communities,” added Shettima.

The flood also inundated the city’s post office and main zoo, with authorities warning that “deadly animals has been washed away into our communities (sic).”

Social media showed pictures of an ostrich which had supposedly escaped from the facility wandering the streets of the city.

Manzo said forecasts did not prepare the emergency workers for the extent of the flooding, while also blaming the impact of climate change for the “disaster”.

He told AFP that there were deaths as a result of the incident but declined to give a specific number as rescue workers continue rescue operations in the affected areas.

Environment

Roads, houses submerged, many displaced as flood ravages Maiduguri

Major roads, houses, and shops in Maiduguri metropolis, the Borno State capital, and parts of the Jere Local Government Area have been submerged by floodwaters.

The Shehu’s Palace, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, and Sanda Kyarimi Park Zoo were some of the public infrastructure submerged by flood.

A prison wall located along the Custom area was broken by flood as some inmates allegedly drowned while several others escaped for their lives.

Major roads within the state capital including the Post-Office Roundabout which links major locations in the capital are flooded thereby cutting off vehicular movement within the metropolis.

The Abbaganaram, Custom Road along which the flooded prison is located, Tashan Bama, Custom Road, Monday Market, Gamboru Market Custom Area, Cattle Market in old Maiduguri, Gwange area, Lagos Street are all communities affected by the flood.

The Maiduguri Zoo’s popularity known as Sanda Kyarimi Zoo Park was flooded too. The General Manager of the zoo, Ali Abatcha, said 80% of the animals in the zoo have been killed by the flood while the others have escaped into the city capital.

Thousands of residents living along waterways and flood-prone areas have been displaced, the majority of whom are women and children.

Several shop owners and small-scale businesses are also affected by the flood.

Touring across safer areas within Maiduguri, thousands of women and children are relocating along with their belongings.

Many of them are seen taking refuge under trees at the major roads.

Apart from large volume rainfall being experienced this year, the flood, according to multiple sources, is a result of leakage of the bank of Alo Dam, a major source of water supply to Maiduguri which draws its source from River Ngadda in Cameroon and the Lake Chad.