At least 49 people have been killed and thousands displaced in Nigeria after heavy rains caused flooding in the northeast of the country, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.

NEMA spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel said Monday that three states in the northeast, Jigawa, Adamawa and Taraba, have been hit hard by floods, with 41,344 people displaced.

In 2022, Nigeria experienced its worst flood in more than a decade, which killed more than 600 people, displaced around 1.4 million and destroyed 440,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of farmland.

The floods have also destroyed farmlands, affecting around 693 hectares (1,712 acres) of agricultural land. Nigeria is battling double-digit inflation, which has been stoked by high food prices.

Heavy rains have added to problems in the farming sector, where farmers are deserting their farms in the northeast due to repeated attacks by armed individuals.

Many officials remain worried and are bracing for more destruction as the rainy season is yet to peak.

The government said this year that 31 of the country’s 36 states were at risk of experiencing “high flood”.