44 Die, 55,030 Displaced As Floods Ravage 52 LGAs

At least, 44 persons have lost their lives and 367 more injured in disastrous flood incidents that have also seen not less than 55,030 people displaced in Nigeria since the return of the rains this year.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) made the disclosure yesterday, saying that a total of 145,744 have so far been affected by the ravaging flood that is predicted to even intensify in the coming weeks.

Nigeria has been affected by floods for years. According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), floods last year claimed hundreds of lives, causing up to $9 billion in damage.

Assistant direct of the Search and Rescue Department Wagami Lydia Madu at NEMA, disclosed this in a paper presentation at a national emergency coordination forum meeting on flood updates and cholera situations across the country. The meeting was organised by the NEMA.

According to Madu, 19,560 houses were affected by the ravaging floods that affected 20 states in Nigeria. 3,473 hectares of farmlands have also been affected by the nationwide disaster that has happened at different times.

The most affected states are Zamfara, Taraba, Lagos, Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu, Bayelsa and Adamawa states.

The director general of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar called on government agencies and non-governmental organisations not to relent in their effort in ensuring that steps are taken to reduce the impact of disasters across the country, especially flooding and cholera outbreaks currently being experienced.

The meeting was convened to review the current flood situation since the commencement of the current rainy season and to address public health concerns regarding the current cholera outbreak in some parts of the country.

United Nation’s resident coordinator, Mr Mohamed Fall said the meeting will help stakeholders in the rescue response team to share experiences. “The UN stands in support of this effort. We have to find resources to fight it (disaster) or be more efficient in how we fight it. In all, we have to help the most vulnerable. Together we can address these issues.

“If we can work to make sure we prevent these disasters from happening, we can mitigate the impacts. It is key we work on how we use these resources to move forward,” he said. He added, “Whatever we can do to support you, whatever we can do to strengthen this partnership…we have to work together to resolve our problems. The United Nations stands ready to support you in any way we can.”

The NEMA DG said the agency has activated its national emergency operation centre to support and coordinate responses, share information, provide timely support to affected areas, and collate and analyse flood incident data across the country.

She said as part of measures to prevent disaster, NEMA has intensified efforts towards sensitising the general public on the need to take precautionary measures to mitigate the impact of the predicted flood disaster through awareness campaigns at the local government and community levels.

In a goodwill message, the World Bank said it is joining the emergency response community to provide the required support to affected persons. It said there is a need to be more responsive to any kind of support for the country. “We stand ready to provide technical and financial support for NEMA. We are in talks with the government and other partners in which areas would need our support. We’re looking forward to working with all of you to provide the support,” a representative of the bank said.