Xi extends condolences to Nigeria

President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday over a boat capsizing in the country in which 76 people were reported to have died.

In his message, Xi said he was shocked to hear about the accident in the southern state of Anambra.

Xi extended his condolences to families of the bereaved on behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people.

The boat, said to have been overloaded with passengers who were fleeing flooding, capsized on Oct 7.

Many women and children were among those fleeing floodwaters in the Ogbaru council area of Anambra, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency said.

"Eighty-five of them packed into a single boat and the weight overpowered the boat," said Godwin Thickman, the regional head of the emergency management agency. The vessel could not move freely because it ran into submerged trees and the roofs of houses, he said.

Nigeria is battling its worst floods in 10 years, blamed mainly on the release of excess water from Lagdo dam and unusual rainfall in the country.

Nigeria's Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said last week that more than 1.4 million people were displaced, about 500 reported dead and 1,546 injured.

In addition, 45,249 houses were badly damaged and 70,566 hectares of farmland were destroyed, the ministry said.

While the rainy season usually begins around June, most deaths and displacements started around August and September, said a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, Manzo Ezekiel.

A humanitarian affairs ministry official said: "We are taking all the necessary actions to bring relief to the people affected by the flood."

A shortage of fuel caused long lines at petrol stations in the capital, Abuja, last week after tankers were blocked by floods in neighboring states.

More heavy rain is expected in the coming weeks and months. The rainy season in northern states typically ends in November and in southern states in December.

Heavy rainfall is expected over parts of the states of Taraba, Ebonyi, Benue and Cross River, the Meteorological Agency said, and warned of flash flooding.

The extensive damage is also because "people violate regional planning (rules), constructing (houses and buildings) near waterways", Ezekiel said.

Thousands of farms have been washed away in flooding, sparking fears of food shortages, famine and hunger in a country struggling with the impacts of the pandemic. Rice producers have warned that the floods could affect prices in the country of about 200 million people.

Sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change, and many of its economies are struggling from ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine.

The World Food Programme and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said last month that some African countries are facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.

Xinhua - Agencies