Flood spreads to 29 states
The National Emergency Management Agency said the fatalities caused by severe flooding in Nigeria rose to 192 across 29 states.
The flooding is caused by unprecedented rainfall and the rising Niger and Benue rivers.
The 29 states hit by flooding so far are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, the Federal Capital Territory, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara.
Others are Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, and Plateau.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Sunday, NEMA’s spokesperson, Ezekiel Manzo, said, “I got information from our Emergency Operation Centre that the death toll has increased to 192. The latest figure is as a result of flooding that happened in Plateau State.
“Plateau State has just been added to the number of the states affected because it is the last state in northern Nigeria that recorded flooding between Friday and yesterday (Saturday) morning. So, Plateau has joined the number of the states that have recorded flooding this year, previously, it was 28 states, but it’s now 29 states.”
Asked if those at risk were abiding by the warning to relocate, Manzo said some people underrate the warning, and there may be a possibility of the flooding exceeding predictions.
“Some people underrated the information that was given to them, because we carried out a lot of sensitisation. So, if information has been given over and over, and this thing is still happening, it means some people underrated the information.
“Secondly, there’s also the possibility that the flooding exceeded what was envisaged. Thirdly, sometime ago, we had flooding in locations that were not previously known to be prone to flooding. There is a high amount of rainfall that we have recorded so far, with high impact that has been recorded,” he stated.
He said the agency has been engaging in sensitisation programmmes to enlighten the people.
