President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday promised to support the over 500,000 victims of flood disaster from January to August, this year.
The President made the pledge while receiving regular updates on the flood situation in the country, which has affected several Nigerians across the country.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Tuesday, said, said Buhari extended his heartfelt condolences to all the families that lost their family members affected by the recent flooding in different States across the country.
The President pledges that the Federal government would continue to provide the needed emergency assistance to individuals and communities impacted by the disaster.
The President pleaded with the other public-spirited individuals and organisations to support hundreds of thousands of people in need of urgent help in the affected communities.
Buhari reiterated that the tragic flood disasters have brought to fore the need for States and local governments to step up their level of preparedness in handling emergencies, which he said remained a shared responsibility with the Government at the Centre.
According to him, the Federal Government would continue to monitor the situation very closely to work more with states and affected communities to reduce the impact of the disaster by providing resources and improving response and recovery efforts.
The President urged inhabitants of flood-prone areas to always adhere to the early warning advisories as issued by the organisations saddled with climate monitoring and disaster management.
“Since January this year flooding has been reported in Lagos, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Ebonyi, and Anambra States.
“Others are Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia States and the Federal Capital Territory, affecting 508,721 people.
“The destructive floods have displaced 73,379 people, 115 casualties, and injured 277 people.
“The floods and heavy rain have left around 37, 633 houses destroyed or severely damaged, according to latest data made available to the Presidency from the relevant Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA).” The statement reads.