UN says Nigeria will need $38m to help 2.1 million

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says Nigeria will need $38 million in emergency aid to help 2.1 million people uprooted from their homes by flooding.

Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Friday the aid plan includes help with food, water, shelter and schools mainly in farming and fishing communities along the Niger River.

Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency has said 363 people died and more than 18,000 people were injured over months of flooding across the West African nation.

Heavy seasonal rains typically cause flooding across Nigeria, but this year it was exacerbated by heavier than normal rains that prompted officials in Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon to open strained dams.