At least 500 people have been killed and thousands displaced in floods in Nigeria since the start of the rainy season this year.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Nigeria’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said “over 1.4 million persons were displaced, about 500 persons have been reported dead… and 1,546 persons were injured.”

“Similarly, 45,249 houses were totally damaged… while 70,566 hectares of farmlands were completely destroyed,” said the statement from the ministry’s Deputy Director of Information Rhoda Ishaku Iliya.

National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Manzo Ezekiel said on Wednesday the latest figures were from last weekend.

The rainy season usually begins around June, but most deaths and displacements started “around August and September,” Ezekiel said. The rainy season typically ends in November in northern states and in December in the south.

This week, fuel scarcity caused long queues at petrol stations in the capital Abuja. Tankers were blocked by floods in neighboring states. In the southern state of Anambra, 76 people died when a boat capsized on Friday during the flooding of the Niger River.

Floods were also caused by the release of water from several dams, a process that was meant to prevent excessive flooding.

More abundant rains are expected in the coming weeks.

Until Thursday, “heavy rainfall is anticipated over parts of Taraba, Ebonyi, Benue and Cross Rivers State,” the Meteorological Agency said. “Flash flooding is likely.”

Nigeria and other countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa have been disproportionately affected by climate change in recent years.

Rice producers have warned the devastating floods could impact prices in the country of some 200 million people.

Last month, the World Food Program and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Nigeria was among six countries facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.