Floods Ravage States, Kill 28

Buildings submerged after a heavy downpour on Bale Road in Ajuwon area of Ogun State yesterday

At least 28 people have been killed as floods wreaked havoc across many states in Nigeria in the last few days.

Daily Trust report continues:

Hundreds of houses were swept away in the floods that followed days of heavy rainfall.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet) in its updated weather report is predicting that floods will persist up to October in at least 10 states.

NiMET’s Head Corporate Communications, Eva Azinge, said thorough analyses by the agency of rainfall data from observatories nationwide for June and July, showed that soil moisture had either reached saturation, or near saturation levels due to cumulative high intensity rainfall in some parts of the country.

Such states include Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Yobe and Zamfara.

She said by implication, floods should be expected in these areas because the soil would no longer be able to absorb more rainwater in the coming weeks, which coincide with the peak rainy season in some of the states.

Experts suggest that states like Niger, Anambra, Kogi, Ebonyi may also suffer isolated floods especially around the river banks.

In Bauchi State report said that a heavy down pour had killed 12 people while cash crops were washed away in Ganjuwa and Giade local government areas. 

The Deputy Director, Needs Assessment of the State Emergency Management Agency SEMA, Musa Ladan disclosed that the flood killed four people in Galamakira and Galam Baba communities in Miya district area of Ganjuwa local government adding that others lost their lives as a result of flood in Gulbuk community in Giade local government area of the state.

“The flood killed four children who went out in the rain to play in the rain. Unfortunately for them on their way home, they stepped on a culvert which caved in and the flood took them away. The people in the community were able to recover the body one of the children who died during the incident.

The other two bodies were recovered the following day,” he said.

Reports from Nasarawa state said ten persons lost their lives and over 220 houses destroyed by floods in Lafia and Karu local government areas of in the past few weeks.
The interim chairman of Karu, Yin Allah Nanan, who confirmed the recovery of seven corpses, told journalists that the flood happened as a result of a heavy down pour which lasted several hours. He said also that some houses were submerged, while no fewer than seventy houses were destroyed as well as other properties worth millions of naira.

Four people lost their lives to flood in Lapai local government area of Niger State following two days of downpour. The flood also submerged 23 communities and overran several farmlands, Daily Trust learnt yesterday.

Among the communities affected by the flood disaster in Lapai Local government area include Cheku, Lambata Kwaran, Cheppa, Alaba, Bina and Muye. Others are Ebbo, Egba, Gagbe, Tanna, Bazhi, Yelwa and others.

Our correspondent learnt that some communities in Shiroro, Muyan, Gurara and Bida, Lavun, Wushishi, Mokwa and Borgu local government areas were also affected by the flood.
The state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, who was on-the-spot assessment to the affected areas, called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency intervene in the ecological challenges devastating communities in the state.
In Jigawa state two persons died while several houses were destroyed following flood in Ringim and Jahun local government areas.

The flood that occurred sometimes in June killed one elderly woman in Ringim while five others sustained various degrees of injuries.

Similarly, another person was reported dead while several houses collapsed in Jahun town, the headquarters of Jahun Local Government Area of the state.

Earlier, the flood alert of Nigerian Metrological Agency (NiMet) indicated that 11 out of 27 local government areas of the state would experience flood disaster this year.
Since the rains started many communities across Katsina state have suffered from flooding as a result of heavy downpour blocking drainages.

The state executive secretary of SEMA, Aminu Waziri said no fewer than 6200 farmlands were washed away by flooding this year alone and the agency had taken stock with a view to liaising with NEMA to come to their aids.

At least nine people have been reported missing in the ravaging flood which washed away farmlands at Gbam village in Guma local government area of Benue State.

The Executive Secretary of Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Boniface Ortese, told Daily Trust yesterday in Makurdi that the victims were working in their farms when the incident occurred.

“We have nine reports of people missing as a result of flooding from Kereke stream which overflowed its bound. The persons have not yet been seen as we speak. They were tiling the ground in their farms when the water broke forth from the stream in high density and washed them away,” he said.

In Plateau sate, dozens were rendered homeless on Sunday following several hours of heavy rain fall around Abattoir in Jos South and Gadan Tukwane in Rikkos, Jos north local government area.

Daily Trust reports that no casualty was reported but residents claimed the rain had overflowed rivers and flooded into homes in Rikkos, where about 50 people lost their lives four years ago when an over flooded river diverted into homes while residents were asleep. Auwal Ibrahim, who leaves around Gadan Tukwane, a community reputed to have residential building around water ways told our correspondent that Sunday’s rain had lasted over four hours. 

From Enugu state motorists and commuters report that a section of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway had collapsed, causing untold hardship.

Motorists have diverted to the Awka-Nkpor-Onitsha old road and other internal routes taking longer time and paying more to reach their destinations.

Motorists also said group of boys in villages on the road demanded ₦100 payment from each vehicle claiming they had worked on the road to make it passable.

Following two days of heavy downpour in Lagos state communities living in flood-prone areas were displaced and electricity supply in many parts of the state cut off, findings by Daily Trust have shown.

At the time of filing this report, electricity supply was yet to be restored in areas like Ayobo, Ipaja, Agege, Iju-Ishaga, Magboro, Oko-Oba, Lambe, Ajuwon and Giwa-Oke Aro.
A resident of Ipaja who simply identified himself as Mr. Ayodele attributed the blackout to the downpour, saying, “We believe the darkness we are currently experiencing is as a result of the heavy rainfall that we experienced over the weekend. Our light went off on Sunday morning and up till now it has not been restored”.

However, spokesman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Felix Ofure told our correspondent that the company only received one report of fallen pole at Mafoloku.
He said it was likely that the areas listed above were experiencing black out due to little allocation the DISCO received from the national grid.

In Kogi State, Emergency Management Agency (KSEMA) yesterday said the water level at the Niger River had risen from the previous 7.45m about two weeks ago to 8.23m, nearing the red alert level of 9m.

In Rivers state, five Local Government Areas including, Ahoada east, Ahoada west, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Andoni and Ogu/bolo are under the threat of imminent flooding.

The Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency recently predicted overflow of the Niger-Benue River basins and other sub-basins and listed Rivers State as one of the States that will experience coastal flooding due to rise in sea level and tidal surge.

In Ogun state blocked drainages caused heavy flooding in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital on Saturday. Areas most affected included Ijaiye, Obantoko, Ijeja, Post Office, Mokola, Adigbe all in Odeda, Obafemi-Owode, Abeokuta and Abeokuta South council areas.

In Yobe state, three local government areas of Potiskum, Fika and Jakusko are the worst hit by heavy down pour that sacked many communities, and render over 1000 people homeless.

In Fika, the towns Ngalda, Garin Cindo and Gole were the most affected. Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA) has identified at least 8 local governments out 14 in the state as flood prone ones.

The Director Information of the agency Alhaji Bello Na’Allah said yesterday that the residents of the would-be affected areas in the identified local governments were currently being sensitized on the measures they should take to avoid any flood disaster.