Floods destroy 182 houses, displace thousands in Nigeria

 Floods caused by persistent rainfall have destroyed at least 182 houses and displaced thousands of people in Nigeria's town of Dapchi, officials said on Friday.

However, no life was lost in the disaster which affected Dapchi and several others towns in Yobe state, said Mohammed Goje, head of the State Emergency Management Agency.

Rainfall in Dapchi on Thursday further wreaked havoc, with the floods affecting several other nearby communities including Hausari, Filatari, Kolori, Geidam and Fika, said Goje.

Damaturu -- the Yobe state capital -- was also affected by the floods, the official told Xinhua news agency.

In view of the situation, he said disaster management agencies had begun to support victims with relief materials, to ameliorate the sufferings.

Last week, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, which is responsible for issuing flood alerts here, had issued an alert over possible flooding due to the high intensity of rainfall across the country.IANS