ABUJA, Sept 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least 300 people have been killed in separate flood-related incidents in Nigeria so far this year as heavy downpours continue to lash the country, an official with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.

At a technical meeting on flooding on Monday in Abuja, the country’s capital, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, director general of the NEMA, said a total of 29 states have experienced heavy flooding with more than 500,000 people already affected.

According to the official, more than 100,000 others are displaced and living either in temporary shelters, including schools and other public buildings, or amongst benevolent host families.

He told his audience some states in the northeast and central regions of the country are expected to record heavy floods due to predicted above-normal rains coupled with excess water spilling from major dams in the regions.

“The situation requires urgent attention of all stakeholders to match this early warning with early action,” Ahmed said, advising all affected states to move communities at risk of inundation to safe higher grounds, and prepare adequate stockpiles of food and non-food items to enable people to “have a fair level of comfort during periods of possible displacement.”

He added the agency is monitoring the situation and will consider the activation of emergency operation centers to coordinate the flood disaster response in all states at risk.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK