Nigeria floods: More than 600 killed in worst floods in a decade

CNN
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The death toll from Nigeria’s worst floods in a decade has passed 600, the country’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, more than two million people have been affected by the floods that have spread to parts of the south of the country after a particularly rainy season.

The ministry added that more than 200,000 homes were completely or partially damaged.

Earlier this month, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency warned of catastrophic flooding for states along the course of the Niger and Benue rivers, noting that three stacked reservoirs were expected to overflow in Nigeria. The National Disaster Management Association said excess water leakage from a dam in neighboring Cameroon contributed to the flooding.

While many parts of Nigeria are prone to annual floods, floods in certain areas have been more severe than A Kogi Red Cross official told CNN last week that the last major floods were in 2012.

NASA images show a devastating outbreak of the worst flood this region has seen in a decade

Nigeria’s Humanitarian Affairs Minister Saadia Omar Farooq on Sunday warned of the possibility of more floods and urged regional governments to prepare for it.

“We are calling on state governments, local government councils and local communities to prepare for further flooding by evacuating people living in flood plains to higher ground, and providing tents, relief materials and fresh water as well as medical supplies for possible water outbreaks,” the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said on Twitter Sunday.

The country will soon implement its National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, which aims to better coordinate flood response efforts.

According to the department, “relief has gone to every state of the union” and “many state governments have not prepared for floods.”

A delegation organized by the ministry will visit state governors across the country to propose strengthening flood response mechanisms in the states.

Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin