The ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management has said that widespread flooding has killed more than 500 people in Nigeria, leaving around 90,000 homes submerged and blocking food and fuel supplies.
Recall that last month, Cameroonian power company, Eneo said that it would release water from the dam in September and October after its reservoir hit 91% capacity.
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The ministry also said that the floods have so far hit 27 out of the 36 states in the country and impacted around 1.4 million people. It added that the flooding caused by heavier-than-usual rains had been building since early summer and intensified after water releases from the Lagdo dam in neighbouring Cameroon.
In a statement, the director general of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Habib Ahmed said “the scale of the disaster …is colossal”.
Drone footage shared from Lokoja, the Kogi State capital on Thursday, showed several houses and business places submerged and residents having to depend on local boats to go for activities.
The NNPC blamed the floods, which also blocked a key road out of Lokoja, for a fuel shortage in the capital, Abuja.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
