Floods triggered by a heavy downpour this week killed at least 20 people in Nigeria's largest city of Lagos, emergency services officials said on Tuesday.

"Not less than 20 people including children were killed in the Lagos flooding on Sunday," National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushau Shuaib said.

The flooding described by the agency as "the most devastating so far this year in Nigeria" hit one of Africa's largest cities on Sunday and Monday, turning roads into rivers and forcing many people out of their homes.

Lagos, a city of 15 million people, is overcrowded, with many residents living in hapharzardly built slums.

Tunde Adebiyi, a NEMA coordinator in Lagos, said he had a partial casualty figure of 18 and was still receiving more statistics.

At least four children were among the dead, he said, adding that "apart from these, we also heard of three other children elsewhere, but we are still to confirm."

The agency also confirmed the death of nine people in the northern city of Katsina in rain-induced floods also on Sunday.

Flooding occurs each rainy season in Nigeria, though emergency officials have warned of particularly intense rains this year. The rainy season typically runs from around April to September.

earlier related report
N.Korea says storm left casualties, destroyed homes
Seoul (AFP) July 12, 2011 - A tropical storm that hit the Korean peninsula late last month washed away homes, factories and roads and caused unspecified casualties, the official news agency said Tuesday.

Heavy rain and strong winds brought by Tropical Storm Meari that hit the North from June 25-27 left some 160 homes and more than 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of farmland destroyed or submerged across the country, it said.

Several areas including the west coast regions saw casualties, it said without elaborating.

"Not a small number of production plants, public buildings, roads and riverbanks have been destroyed or submerged," the agency said.

Reconstruction efforts were under way in regions including South and North Hwanghae provinces in the west and Kangwon province on the east, it said.

It was unclear why it took the agency some long to report the damage.

After decades of deforestation, North Korea is particularly vulnerable to flooding. In 2007 it reported at least 600 dead or missing from devastating floods.

Meari left nine dead in South Korea and destroyed scores of homes, roads and farms across the country.

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