At least 179 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced as a result of weeks of flooding in Nigeria, it has been reported today the National Emergency Management Center, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
The worst affected areas were the seven northwestern states, where the floods killed 89 people and destroyed more than 25,000 hectares of agricultural land, the center added.
Nigeria's President, Bola Tinubu, said yesterday that he had received "the news of the devastation caused by the floods to municipalities and agricultural lands across the country with deep sorrow".
Flooding, which peaked in July and August, raised concerns about food supplies in the country, which is struggling with double-digit inflation due to high food prices.
Heavy rains have added to problems in the agricultural sector as farmers flee their farms in northeastern Nigeria due to repeated attacks by militants.
The death toll is up sharply from last calendar year, when the National Emergency Management Center reported just 45 flood-related deaths.
In 2022, Nigeria experienced its worst flooding in more than a decade, killing over 600 people, displacing an estimated 1.4 million people and destroying 440,000 hectares of agricultural land.