The Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said about 500,000 citizens were displaced by rain-induced floods in 2010.

The agency in a statement issued to reporters in Abuja on Tuesday said its director-general, Mohammed Sani-Sidi, disclosed this at a conference on Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva.

The statement said many communities were affected, particularly in Sokoto,Jigawa, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Lagos, Ogun, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Niger and Kwara.

It said NEMA had already sent out early warning signals to some of the states to ensure that they sensitized their people to potential risks in 2011 and how to avoid them.

The statement said Mohammed urged the governments to build barriers along river banks and move people away from low-lying places by the rivers, as well as adopt strategic measures to control floods.

It also said the director general urged the states to adequately fund their respective emergency management agencies to boost their sensitization programs and provide immediate needs in their communities.