The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq has warned state governments, local government areas and community leaders especially in Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa states, of the impending floods in the coming weeks and has called on state governments to begin evacuation of persons living along water channels and other areas obstructing the flow of water.
The Minister made this known at a media briefing on Sunday in Abuja, while enumerating government’s efforts in mitigating the disaster in the country which she described as overwhelming.
Umar Farouq noted that despite concerted efforts to avert the consequences of the 2022 flooding season as forcast by the Nigerian Metrological Agency, many state governments did not prepare for the floods. She said that as a result, the toll of lives lost and property damaged has risen astronomically.
“Unfortunately, over 603 lives have been lost as of today October 16, 2022. A total of 1,302,589 persons have been displaced, 2,504.095 persons have been affected on the whole, 2,407 persons have been injured, a total of 82,053 houses are completely damaged while 121,318 are partially damaged. 108,392 hectares of farmland were partially destroyed while 332,327 hectares were totally destroyed including many roads and other critical infrastructure.
“While we mourn the unfortunate boat mishap in Anambra State and other locations, please we must note that we are not completely out of the woods because the Metrological Agencies are warning that States like Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa are still at risk of experiencing floods up till the end of November.
“We are calling on the respective State Governments, Local Government Councils and Communities to prepare for more flooding by evacuating people living on flood plains.
