The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farou, has in a statement released fresh data on the victims of flood plaguing 33 states out of the 36 states in the country.
Driving the news
The Minister said the flood crisis has internally displaced about 1.4 million persons, injured 2,776 Nigerians, killed 612 people while causing partial damages to 181,600 houses. The flood has also completely damaged 123,807 houses.
- About 176,852 hectares of farmlands were partially damaged, while 392,399 hectares of farmlands were completely submerged.
What’s more?
The federal government has sent relief materials to 21 states including 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.
- The relief materials sent out by the federal government were food items such as rice, beans, maize, garri, vegetable oil, tin tomatoes and seasonings and shelter materials including roofing sheets, cement, nails, ceiling boards, blankets, nylon mats, and zinc.
The big picture
The flood of 2022 still plaguing many parts of Nigeria and showing no signs of ending in the nearest future has officially ranked as the most dangerous flood the country has seen in the last four decades. It is unexpectedly worse than the 2012 incident that displaced 2 million persons, injured about 5,000 physically and destroyed over 5,900 houses.
- Socioeconomic activities, including road travel, farming, schooling, have completely halted in many communities severely affected by the flood.
- Also, starvation, fuel scarcity and inflation have become the ramifications of this flooding incident. And with the festive season approaching, Nigerians could be bracing for one of the worst economic crises in years.
Looking forward
President Muhammadu Buhari ordered his cabinet to develop a flood prevention plan in 90 days. This plan would outline a comprehensive action plan to prevent future disasters in the country. The Nigerian President also admonished ministries and state governments to do the same.