Flood kills 19 in northern Nigeria

At least 19 people were confirmed dead in a recent flood disaster which ravaged some areas in northern Nigeria's Taraba State, Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Novalga Danhabu said on Monday. Danhabu told reporters in Jalingo, the state capital, that the deaths were recorded in eight local government areas across the state. "Over 80,000 pieces of farmlands were destroyed while over 28, 000 people were either internally displaced or missing in the disaster," he said, adding the flood also destroyed at least 10, 000 houses and 3,000 livestock in the affected areas. Other infrastructures like markets, culverts, bridges, schools, churches, mosques as well as health facilities were washed away by the flood, he added. Following the prediction of heavier downpours in the coming days by weather experts and the federal ministry of the environment, Danhabu warned residents of the state, especially those living near river banks, to vacate to higher grounds to avoid further destruction. Hundreds of people had died and thousands were displaced in this flood that wreaked havoc across Nigeria.