Rising floods across Nigeria

…Ravaging 29 states, thousands displaced

…Kills 25, destroys 500 homes in Adamawa, Plateau

…Anambra, others may be affected – NEMA

MANY communities are counting their losses as rising floods sweep across Nigeria with 29 states affected and thousands displaced already.

  Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, stated this during an emergency technical meeting on flood situation in Nigeria in Abuja.

  Calling on Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and other frontline states to move communities at risk of flooding to safer grounds, Ahmed  said other states  that may be affected include Niger, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa.

  Ahmed said that the warning became necessary as the Lagdo dam operators in the Republic of Cameroon had begun to release excess water from its reservoir which will in turn get to Nigeria.

  In a related development, flood has killed 25 persons and destroyed 400 homes in Adamawa State, displacing 130,000 others.

  Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Sulieman Muhammad gave the figures in a press conference in Yola, yesterday.

  Explaining that the flood also rendered highways impassable to motorists and commuters while wrecking havocs in affected many communities, Muhammad said the state was facing threat of food insecurity because of the loss of farm produce as flood waters ravaged 18 local government areas in the state.

  “The report reaching me on the devastation wrought by flood waters as a result of recent flooding in the state, further worsened as result of the release of excess water from Lagdo Hydro Power Dam by authorities in the Republic of Cameroonian, so far is 25 deaths. Then, we have 58 persons that have sustained different injuries, while 130,000 persons have been severely affected and displaced from their homes in 153 communities across 18 local government areas of the state,” he said.

  In another development, no fewer than 200 persons have been displaced in some parts of Pilgani District, Langtang North LGA of Plateau State with over 100 homes washed away following several days of heavy downpour.