The Federal Government has said that the number of Nigerians affected by flooding has now risen to 3.2 million. This was disclosed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq on Tuesday in a press statement on the flooding situation in the country as well as the federal government’s efforts to aid victims. To support those affected, she stated that the government has distributed relief in 21 states so far. Unfortunately, casualties have risen to 612 Nigerians, with 392,399 hectares of farmlands totally damaged. According to the statement released by the Minister, “More than 1.4 million persons have been internally displaced; 2,776 persons were injured, 612 people lost their lives while 181,600 houses were partially damaged. Number of totally damaged houses was 123,807; 176,852 hectares of farmlands were partially damaged, while 392,399 hectares of farmlands were totally damaged,’’ Farouq said. “A total of 21 states have received relief materials so far. They are Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, and the FCT. Others are Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe. Specialized teams are on the ground. There are some states and local governments that are inaccessible and hard to reach.” “Others are materials to assist with temporary shelters for displaced communities. These include roofing sheets, cement, nails, ceiling boards, blankets, nylon mats, and zinc.” She noted that Search-and-Rescue teams had continued to evacuate, relocate and refer victims to hospitals, citing that they are responsible for evacuating people and providing first aid and medical support and referrals to hospitals, adding the aid has reached 199 local government areas in 25 states. “The operations are ongoing and I urge communities at risk to adhere to warnings and instructions issued by the teams as they work to protect and save lives. We hope that government organs such as Water Resources, Health, Works and Housing, Agriculture, and Environment ministries will give their own updates on operations to resolve the emergency,” she said. Meanwhile, in a statement by the media aide to the President, Garba Shehu on Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered his cabinet to provide a flood prevention plan in 90 days and develop a comprehensive action plan to prevent future disasters in the country. 3.2M PEOPLE NOW AFFECTED BY FLOOD – FG SADIYA UMAR FAROUQ
