Flood Kills 603 Nigerians, Displaces 1.3m

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has disclosed that over 603 people have died and 1.3 million displaced in 31 states across the country from 2022 to date as a result of flooding caused by climate change.

The representative of NiMet, Blessing Aganbi, disclosed this in a presentation on Understanding Climate Change at a one-day training of farmers by Women Environmental Programme Nigeria (WEP) on Actions to Combat Climate Threats (ACCT) held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

While attributing the inability of farmers to seek ways of adopting and complying to climate change to untimely access to weather and climate change information, Blessing disclosed that during this period under review a whopping $6. 681 billion were recorded as economic losses between June and November.

According to her, “to overcome the threat to food security associated with climate change, the Benue State government has to take into cognition agro-climatic information and pass it to citizens timely for behavioural change.”

Also, the monitoring and evaluation manager of WEP, Damaris Uja, said the WEP programme, funded by Christian Aid, is to ensure a world where the lives of women and youths are positively transformed by ensuring the rights of women and youths through sustainable environmental socio-political and economic development.

In a welcome address, the deputy director WEP, John Baaki, explained that the aim of the training is to equip participants especially farmers with the requisite information on climate change and how to adapt with the change.

33 Dead, 9,960 Displaced In Adamawa Flooding

Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) has said 33 people have died as a result of the flooding witnessed due to release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

Muhammed Suleiman, the executive secretary of the agency, gave the figure at stakeholders meeting in Yola yesterday, adding that 1,600 households were displaced, comprising 9,960 individuals

Suleiman said 11 camps across four local government areas of Yola-North, Yola-South, Lamurde and Demsa LGAs provide temporary shelter for the victims.

The deputy governor, Prof Kaletapwa Farauta, reiterated government’s commitment to address the plight of those affected by the flood.