The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has shared some sad news. Between April and September 2024, severe flooding affected 1,048,312 people in Nigeria.
The Director-General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, talked about this during a National Emergency Coordination Forum (ECF) in Abuja, as reported by NAN.
Mrs. Umar said the flooding forced about 625,239 people to leave their homes. Sadly, 259 people lost their lives.
She sent her heartfelt sympathies to the affected communities and assured everyone that the Federal Government will help them through NEMA.
“Our main goal at this meeting was to look at the flood situation, decide who does what, and talk about how we will respond,” she explained.
“Even though we can’t stop all flooding, we are working hard to reduce its impact,” Mrs. Umar said.
The flooding has hit 29 states and 172 local government areas. NEMA is doing its best to handle the crisis by opening Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and sending extra staff for search and rescue missions. “We have given water purifiers and important rescue tools to the affected areas,” she added.
Support
NEMA has gotten help from international partners, and Mrs. Umar asked for more support and watchfulness.
Despite how serious the situation is, she assured that the Nigerian government is dealing with the crisis effectively.
Wagami Madu, the Assistant Director of Search and Rescue, gave an update saying that seven people have died in Borno as of Saturday.
Mr. Madu also mentioned problems in Maiduguri, like not having enough materials and toilets because of the large number of people in the camps.
Mrs. Emmanuela Offiong, Assistant Director at the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, stressed the need for accurate information to stop the spread of wrong information during disasters.
The flood situation is serious, but there are organized efforts to help those affected.
