Hundreds killed in Nigeria floods, more than 1.4 million displaced
More than 1.4 million people have been displaced and more than 200 people have been killed in floods which have swept across Nigeria.
The floods are being caused by heavy rainfall and torrential monsoon rainfall which has been triggered by a persistent El Nino weather pattern. More than 500 bridges have collapsed and more than a million people have been affected.
At least 10 people in four states have died in floods, while others are still missing. A further 3,000 people are being evacuated from their homes in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
The floods hit the hardest in the North-Eastern states of Bauchi, Kebbi and Borno, where more than 80 per cent of the population is rural people with no access to clean water. More than a million have been displaced and the death toll has now risen to more than 230.
At least 10 people are now reported dead in the northern states of Kebbi, Bauchi and Minna also after a heavy downpour.
At least nine people were killed when a bridge collapsed in the state of Yobe, according to the latest figure from the Nigerian Red Cross. Four people have also been killed in the southern states of Nasarawa and Nasarawa State, where a bridge sank in the floods.
In the Borno state, the flooding has forced the closure of more than 40 schools and several community centres have been sealed off to help those displaced.
Local officials have reported the death of two more people and four others have reportedly been missing in Bauchi, Kebbi, the state of Kebbi and Niger State.
The floods are now the worst recorded since the 1980s.
A spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said: “At the beginning of the morning, the river Njoi had to be blocked off. But as the afternoon approached, the river turned out to be very unstable. The bridges over the Njoi were also closed, causing a lot of damage to houses.
“All these forced people out of their homes. They were told it would be the last time. They just have to wait for the water to recede. But some of them were in the process
