Nigeria confirms 185 deaths from floods

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed 185 deaths due to floods across the country.

NEMA spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

He also advised people living around the Benue River to move immediately.

Ezekiel warned that Adamawa and eight other states were at risk of flooding due to their proximity to the Benue River.

The other states are Taraba, Benue, parts of Nasarawa, Kogi, and parts of Anambra, Enugu, Edo and Delta.

He noted that water from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam is usually released around this time of year, and said the Federal Government had not received any notification from the East African country.

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The statement read: “As of yesterday (Thursday), the number has increased to around 185. All numbers of displaced persons, affected homes and affected people are increasing as our emergency operations centre works 24 hours a day.

“We are in constant communication with the field officers, getting information about what is happening, and because the flooding is still ongoing, the numbers have changed, and the death toll has increased.

“(The water) has not reached the red level, but it is at the warning point that the water level is rising. People must be prepared. I mean the Benue River.

“So, the other thing is if the water level reaches the red point, we know there is danger.

“Even if there is such information, I don’t know yet, but usually around this time the issue of releasing water from the Lagdo Dam arises.

“But the floods recorded in Nigeria are derived from the amount of rainfall recorded in the country, so the rainfall and tributaries of these two major rivers (Niger and Benue) are responsible for most of the flooding in Nigeria so far.”

Nigeria confirms 185 dead in floods first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.