Tens of thousands flee Nigeria floods

Lagos: Two major rivers have flooded across central Nigeria displacing tens of thousands of people, the Red Cross told AFP. Rescue workers in Kogi...

Lagos: Two major rivers have flooded across central Nigeria displacing tens of thousands of people, the Red Cross told AFP.

Rescue workers in Kogi State have been helping residents move away from the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers to displacement camps or nearby villages.

Umar Y Mahmud, the Red Cross disaster management officer in Kogi, said Friday there were more than 60,000 people displaced and about 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of land under water.

"The situation is very bad now as the Niger river is increasing," Mahmud said.

Kogi state's information commissioner Kingsley Femi Fanwo said displacement camps were becoming "overwhelmed" and estimated that more than one million people could be in the affected areas.