Floods, Rats, and War: 3 Disasters That Are Wiping Out Food and Livelihoods Right Now

In Lagos, Nigeria, heavy rains destroyed Daniel Ebiesua’s home in minutes. Muddy water tore down his fence, flooded every room, and submerged electronics, furniture, and important documents. Ebiesua fled with his wife, their two-week-old baby, four-year-old son, and his mother-in-law, sheltering at a neighbor’s upstairs apartment for four hours as the flood swallowed the streets below [194046]. Nigeria is bracing for another season of devastating rains, and for residents like Ebiesua, the mental toll is heavy. “Every time the rain falls, the fear comes back,” he said. Many families have rebuilt their homes multiple times, but each new storm brings the same threat: losing everything again [194046].

In the hills of Mizoram, northeast India, farmers watch for swarms of stink bugs, locally called *thangnang*. When they appear, it means the rats are coming—and with them, famine. Every few decades, mass blooming in Mizoram’s bamboo forests causes a rodent boom. The rats devour crops, leading to devastating food shortages for local communities [194098]. Maunsanga, a 62-year-old farmer in Mamit district, walks across his plot at dawn, stopping where his rice crop once stood. He bends down to examine a broken stalk. The damage is already done. This recurring crisis raises a critical question: why does history keep repeating itself? [194098]

Meanwhile, in Russia’s southern breadbasket, farmers are running out of fuel. Diesel pumps sit empty, prices have spiked, and fuel limits are in place—at the exact moment when combines need to roll for the harvest [193964]. The shortage follows Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian oil refineries, which have disrupted domestic diesel production. As Russia continues its costly war against Ukraine, the agricultural sector is now feeling the pain. Without enough diesel, farmers cannot power their harvesting equipment, threatening a significant loss of Russia’s grain crop [193964].