Nigeria: Floods kill 137, thousands displaced (Video)

Abuja - The Red Cross in Nigeria says floods have killed 137 people and affected 15 local governments and displaced 36, 331 since this year's July peak of the rainy season.

The areas affected include local government areas in Adamawa, Taraba and Benue states in the eastern middle-belt region of the country. Reuters reports that Red Cross spokesman Umar Mairigia said: "We are expecting the numbers of dead or displaced to keep building up." Nigeria goes through the peak of its rainy season, that begins in May, from July to September. Flooding in the rainy season is due largely to poor urban planning and overcrowding in Nigeria's major cities. Large parts of the Lagos metropolis remain water logged for most of the rainy season and Lagosians live through this period of the year in anxiety. Although Reuters reports that no damage to agriculture and industry have been reported this year, seasonal flash floods have destroyed crops and farms in the northern part of the country in the past.