The National Emergency Management Agency has reported that 52 LGAs across 20 states have been affected by flooding.

Speaking at a National Emergency Coordination Forum meeting in Abuja, Director General of NEMA,Mrs Zubaida Umar, said the number of affected states was expected to rise to 33 between August and October, based on predictions from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.

Umar said so far the floods had resulted in the loss of three human lives, attributing the relatively low number of fatalities to increased awareness in the communities on how to prevent death and stay safe during flooding.

Regarding displacement, she said that in Kebbi and Sokoto states, the government successfully relocated displaced individuals to higher grounds.

The DG emphasised that state governments had been advised to continue relocating people to safer areas.

She stressed that NEMA had shifted from a reactive to a proactive approach, with the agency actively visiting LGAs across the country to educate citizens on safety measures during floods.

Also speaking, the Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Trond Jensen, expressed the UN’s commitment to supporting NEMA. He affirmed that UN-OCHA would coordinate with various partners to provide financial and logistical support to address the disaster effectively.