ANKARA

At least 68 people have died from flooding in various parts of Nigeria this year, while no less than 129,000 have been affected, local media reported Monday.

“The devastating impact of the 2020 flooding killed 68 people, affected 35 states including FCT [Federal Capital Territory], 320 LGAs [local government areas] and over 129,000 people,” the Premium Times website quoted Muhammadu Muhammed, head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), as announcing Monday during an event in the capital Abuja.

“It led to loss of lives, it destroyed houses and washed away farmlands across the country, thereby having [a] negative impact on food security,” he added.

He said his agency is determined to provide support to build the capacities of state emergency agencies to respond to disasters, according to the report.

Fueling this crisis, Nigeria’s climate has been changing, with sea level rises and flooding, climbing temperatures, variable rainfall, as well as “drought and desertification; land degradation; more frequent extreme weather events; affected fresh water resources and loss of biodiversity,” according to an October 2019 study published by Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.