UN Envoy: Thousands Of Residents Still Trapped In Floods In Nigeria's Northeast

Illustration of floods in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Wikimedia Commons/Nam Hy Hoprinish Phong)

JAKARTA - Thousands of residents are still trapped in water-watered areas, days after heavy floods hit northeastern Nigeria, according to a UN envoy.

The UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malk Fall, said the lack of funds had hampered the evacuation of many trapped residents in areas that were submerged in water due to severe flooding on Tuesday, September 10 in the city of Sacri.

He also noted that this flood was the worst in the last three decades.

"Until now, there are still thousands of residents in areas whose floods have not subsided," Fall told reporters at a press conference in Maiduguri on Saturday, September 14, quoted via Antara, Sunday, September 15.

He added that the priority of the UN humanitarian organization was to cooperate with the Nigerian government to evacuate victims from flood-affected areas and provide assistance to displaced people to help them recover from a traumatic experience.

"The United Nations is also worried about the potential health risks caused by the flood," he said.

He said that the humanitarian community had not been able to provide an exact number of people affected by the flood because rescue operations were still ongoing.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed 37 deaths and 58 injuries related to flood incidents.

Authorities say more than a million people have been affected by the flood, with 414,000 others displaced. More refugees were evacuated and registered in internally displaced camps (IDP) on Saturday.