Benue Flooding Displaced More than Hundred Thousand

President Muhammadu Buhari says more than 100,000 people have been displaced by flooding in Benue State, the central part of Nigeria. It is not immediately known whether anyone has died in the flooding.

He said that emergency response teams are being sent to the area, where nearly 2,800 households have been displaced.

Read: Coping With Floods: How government policy exacerbates hurricanes like Harvey

Benue state is prone to flooding because of a prominent river that runs through the area. In 2012, more than 50,000 households were submerged and dozens died in flooding.

More than 30 people have lost their lives across Nigeria since the start of the rainy season.

Helen Teghtegh, the head of a local NGO, the Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiative, said the region had been battered by heavy rains over the past two weeks with the level of the Benue river rising.

Many residents in the state capital Makurdi have fled their homes since Wednesday, she added, launching an appeal for donations.

"We are still trying to get accurate data, we don't know the number of casualties, but we are having a meeting tomorrow with local groups and emergency services, so we should know better," she said.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari and his government is facing criticism over what many call inaction in tackling the flooding.