More than 600 killed in Nigeria’s worst flooding in a decade – BBC News
A man is washed away by floodwaters on the outskirts of Zaria, Nigeria, in this picture released by the government by the Press Information Bureau.
The flooding comes days after a powerful storm killed more than 300 people on the Niger River in the country’s southwest.
This is the scene on Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, from the rooftop of a building near the presidential palace in the capital Abuja last night.
In the streets, people were fleeing their homes and heading in one direction or another.
The capital of the country was hit by one of the worst floods to hit the country in decades, officials said on Wednesday.
Heavy rains in the past week have caused flooding in Abuja, the country’s largest city, and the southern states of Jigawa and Borno states.
The death toll rose to 580 on Wednesday, while 9,000 people have been displaced and about 3,000 families have been driven from their homes in the worst-hit areas.
Mr Yemi Osinbajo, the head of the Nigeria’s emergency management agency, said: “Our worst-case scenario has taken place.
“At this stage we can only estimate about 300 people have died in Abuja.
“In other parts of the country the death toll could have gone up to the millions.
“We have about 50,000 people displaced in the capital.”
BBC reporter Jonathan Paye-Layleh said that the flooding had brought the capital to a standstill.
A huge mudslide blocked one of the main roads in Abuja’s Maiduguri district on Wednesday, burying drivers, prompting authorities to close some streets while others were washed away.
The streets of the city were flooded over the past week in torrential rain, with much of Abuja submerged in water.