LAGOS, OCT 14 – Two major rivers have overflowed in central Nigeria, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless, the Red Cross told AFP.
Rescue workers in Kogi State have helped residents evacuate from the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers to nearby displacement camps or villages.
Umar Y Mahmud, the Red Cross disaster management officer in Kogi, said on Friday that there were more than 60,000 people displaced and about 60,000 hectares of land under water.
“The situation is very bad now because the Niger river is rising,” said Mahmud.
The state information commissioner, Kogi Kingsley Femi Fanwo said that the evacuation camps were filling up and estimated that over one million people may be in the affected areas.
The floods have been increasing over the past month, affecting densely populated areas, including parts of the state capital Lokoja.
In Ibaji district, more than three-quarters of the land has been submerged, Fanwo said.
Nigeria often experiences floods during the rainy season from May to November but there are fears that this year could be worse than 2022 when more than 500 people died. No deaths were reported this time.
Flooding in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno, in September, left about 37 people dead.
Officials and residents often blame the flood damage on climate change as well as poor planning, construction along river banks and water releases from dams. – AFP
