Frank Ikpefan, Abuja
Sixty – eight people lost their lives as a result of flooding this year, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.
The flooding, which affected 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory, led to the displacement of 129, 000 people, the agency added.
The agency’s Director-General, Muhammadu Muhammed who stated this during the 2020 flood after-action review technical meeting with stakeholders on Monday in Abuja, added that 320 local government areas were affected by floods.
The DG stated that the floods destroyed houses and washed away farmlands across the country thereby having negative impact on food security.
He said: “The devastating impact of 2020 flooding killed 68 people, affected 35 States including FCT, 320 LGAs and over 129,000 people, it led to loss of lives, if destroyed houses and washed away farmlands across the Country thereby having negative impact on food security.
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“Before the 2020 flooding occurred, the whole world was experiencing the COVID-19 Pandemic with lockdown and restriction protocol to contain the spread of the virus. After the release of the Seasonal Rainfall Prediction by NiMet and the Annual Flood Outlook by, Nigeria Hydrological Agency (NIHSA), our worst fear was confirmed with the devastating flood disaster within: the Pandemic.”
He said the technical meeting was planned to review various activities carried out in respect of 2020 flood preparedness, mitigation and response.
The DG added that the meeting will capture lessons learnt and make recommendations that can improve the ability of institutions to coordinate actions that will guide future actions on flooding in Nigeria.
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