Red Cross: 137 killed by floods in Nigeria, thousands displaced – report
A church is submerged by floods at Sparklight Estate, Ogun State, on Lagos -Ibadan highway on October 23, 2011.
Red Cross spokesman Umar Mairiga told Reuters today that flooding in Nigeria has killed a total of 137 people since July, with casualties expected to "keep building up," according to the report.
Mairiga said some 30,000 people have been been forced to leave their homes due to rising floodwaters.
More from GlobalPost: Niger: AQIM releases new video of French hostages taken two years ago
Neighboring Niger recently said floods there had killed at least 68 people and displaced 500,000 since July, according to a report today by Agence-France Press.
Nigeria's wet season is from May to September. The season often wreaks havoc in the populous country's poor communities, where drainage facilities are usually lacking, said Reuters.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!