01/09/2011 11:57
Nigerian flooding claims 102 lives
At least 102 people were killed when a dam burst in torrential rain and flooding in southwest Nigeria, a local Red Cross official told AFP Wednesday.
"The death toll for now... is 102," said Umar Mairiga, disaster management coordinator for the Nigerian Red Cross Society.
He said the Eleyele dam collapsed and several bridges were swept away at the weekend after heavy rains fell for more than seven hours around the university town of Ibadan 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of the economic capital Lagos.
An official of the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said the drains in the town were blocked by rubbish which meant the water could not escape normally.
Seven of Ibadan's eight districts were affected, displacing many residents, Mairiga said.