ABUJA (Reuters) – Floods in much of central and southern Nigeria have killed 100 people across 10 states, the country’s emergency and disasters agency said on Monday.
Such flooding tends to occur every year in the rainy season, exacerbated by poor infrastructure and lack of planning to protect against inundation, but this year the destruction has been the worst since 2012.
He said a national disaster has been declared in four states – Kogi, Niger, Anambra and Delta, meaning the federal government had taken over the search, rescue and rehabilitation of victims.
Delta is an oil-producing state in the Niger Delta region, home to Africa’s biggest energy industry, where the Niger river fans into creeks before emptying into the Atlantic. There has been no reported impact on crude oil production from the floods.
Kogi and Niger are states in the centre of the country whereas the other two are in southern regions.
Floods partially submerged houses in Lokoja, capital of Kogi. The city lies at the confluence of the Benue and the Niger, Africa’s third-longest river, making it particularly vulnerable.
