1m Affected, 94,741 Homeless, Farmlands Submerged by Flood – NEMA

Over one million people were affected and 94,741 became homeless while 125,805 farmlands were submerged nationwide in this year’s flooding.

The director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Hajiya Zubaida Umar, disclosed this in Birnin Kebbi when she led the agency’s management team on an assessment tour of flood-risk areas in Kebbi State.

The DG also visited the state governor, Nasir Idris at the Government House, Birnin Kebbi.

Umar who was represented by the agency’s director of Disaster/Risk Reduction, Dr Daniel Obot, added that statistics from the National Emergency Coordination Centre (EOC) of NEMA as at Friday Sept, 13 showed that 176 LGAs in 30 states including the FCT were affected as against the 148 local governments and 31 states predicted by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

Governor Nasir Idris who was represented by his deputy, Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida commended the efforts of the management team of NEMA led by its DG in assessing the disaster caused by downpour.

Governor Idris said, “Your visit to the risk areas and states in the country will help you to identify more states and areas in need of your urgent assistance.”