The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said that the current trend of flooding indicates that 29 States and 172 Local Government Areas have been impacted; 1,048,312 people affected; 625,239 displaced, and 259 deaths recorded nationwide.
In an update by the Director General, NEMA, Zubaida Umar said that the statistics were released on Thursday at the National Emergency Coordination Forum (ECF) meeting to review strategies and reassign responsibilities in the face of current realities in the pattern and management of disasters nationwide including Borno State where a Search and Rescue operation is ongoing.
According to her, however, except for the severity of the incident in Borno State due to the broken spillway of the Alau Dam, the trend does not indicate a total deviation from the predictions as contained in this year’s Annual Flood Outlook released by Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), which informed that in July to September 2024, 33 States and 135 LGAs are within flood high-risk areas.
For the period between October and November 19, states and 44 LGAs have been indicated.
Speaking on the Maiduguri flood, the NEMA DG commended the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, the government, and the Borno State Emergency Management for rising to the occasion and spearheading the response, rescue and the activation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for affected persons.
She added that NEMA and other agencies are currently providing nationwide interventions to the affected states.
