Floods in Phillipines and Nigeria

Philippines storm brings more floods, landslides

Desdemona Despair

15 August, 2012

15 August 2012 (AFP) – A tropical storm slammed into the Philippines on Wednesday, dumping heavy rains and causing renewed flooding and landslides in a nation hit by weeks of destructive monsoon weather.

Tropical Storm Kai-tak made landfall over the northeast of the main island of Luzon before dawn, packing powerful winds and dumping up to 35 millimetres (1.3 inches) of rain an hour, the state weather bureau said.

While the capital Manila and surrounding areas were not directly hit, they were inundated with intermittent bursts of heavy rain, just a week after flooding that covered much of the city left 95 people dead.

"We have been experiencing really heavy rains since last night, and our rescuers have evacuated some residents after neck-deep flooding was reported," said Melchito Castro, head of civil defence in the northern Ilocos region.

He said flooding hit four towns, although there were no immediate reports of new casualties. Landslides also hit portions of a major highway, cutting it off to traffic.

Norma Talosig, a civil defence official in the region covering the eastern part of Luzon, said authorities there were closely watching the Cagayan river basin amid fears it could overflow.

At more than 500 kilometres (310 miles), the heavily silted Cagayan river is the longest in the country and cuts across four northern agricultural provinces.

"The water level is rising, but it has not yet reached critical levels," Talosig told AFP. "The danger is that when it does overflow, it will flood hundreds of hectares of agricultural production areas and communities."

Talosig said authorities in the eastern region expected heavier rains as Kai-tak slowly moved northwards.

"When the storm's outer bands hits us, its like a whip that's deadlier," she said.

Kai-tak was also expected to bring more misery to nearly half a million people still in evacuation centres in areas outside Manila where last week's floods have yet to fully subside.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said many low-lying farming areas remained flooded, and with rains expected to continue the waters would likely linger for days.

Council chief Benito Ramos has warned those in Manila and in areas where waters were receding to prepare for a new round of evacuations caused by Kai-tak.

Two weeks of relentless monsoon rains peaked early last week with about two days of torrential rain across Luzon that affected more than 3.4 million people, according to the government.

Flooding in central Nigeria kills at least 28 people

Flooding caused by heavy rains in central Nigeria has killed at least 28 people, with many others still missing, while also destroying homes, bridges and farmland, officials said Tuesday.

Terra Daily,

14 August, 2012

"I have counted 28 bodies and many people are still missing after the flood," said Kemi Nshe, local government chairman for the Shendam district in central Nigeria's Plateau state.

He said some 1,500 people were displaced from the rains, the worst of which occurred Sunday.

A Red Cross official in the area said relief workers were having difficulties accessing flooded areas, which he said included around five communities. He said heavy rain began Saturday night and continued into Sunday.

"Flooding has affected close to five (districts), and a lot of bridges have been broken, a lot of people have lost their houses," said Manasseh Panpe.

He said a Red Cross team was able to visit one displaced camp so far where more than 200 people had relocated to.

"They need blankets," said Panpe. "They need food, water."

Last month in another area of Plateau state, heavy rainfall forced a dam to overflow, causing flooding that left at least 35 people dead and destroyed or damaged some 200 homes.

Much of Africa's most populous nation has been affected by heavy seasonal rainfall, and officials have warned more flooding is likely to occur in a number of areas in the coming days.

The rainy season typically runs from March to September.

Also in July, at least three people were killed by flood waters some 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of the economic capital Lagos in Ibadan, an area of southwestern Nigeria where 102 died following torrential rains last year.

At least 20 people died from flooding in Lagos last year, while 24 were killed after rains inundated a neighbourhood in Nigeria's largest northern city of Kano.

Nigerian officials have faced criticism for failing to put in place measures to mitigate the impact of the annual, often severe floods.

The largest cities in Nigeria are overcrowded, with many residents living in haphazardly constructed slums. Drainage systems are also often poorly maintained and contribute to the problem.

In 2010, flooding affected roughly half a million people in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states.

Seasonal flooding also affects the west African region, with 2010 having been a particularly harsh year.

More than 300 people were killed in the 2010 rainy season in western and central Africa and at least 680,000 people were affected by the floods in neighbouring Benin, a country of some nine million.

The flooding also raises the risk of the spread of diseases such as cholera.