August 27th, 2012
Floods wreaked havoc in several states in the North at the weekend, killing at least 15 people in Adamawa State and another four in Niger State.
Hundreds of homes and farmlands were destroyed in floods in Katsina State, while roadways and bridges were submerged in Nasarawa State.
The Adamawa flood affected 36 villages in 13 local government areas and was partly caused by the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, emergency authorities said.
A local diver said apart from the 15 people who died, as many others were declared missing.
“In Yola we counted three corpses, Numan 2, Demsa 3, Guyuk 4, Michika 2, and the list goes on,” he said, asking not to be named.
Apart from the Cameroon dam water release, torrential rainfall in the affected areas worsened the floods, head of the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Mr Shadrach Daniel, said.
Hundreds of acres of farmlands were submerged in Mayo-Belwa, Song, Fufore, Yola South, Yola North, Shelleng, Lamurde and Numan local government areas wasting farm produce worth millions.
Daniel said over 20,000 people have so far been rendered homeless by the incident across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He confirmed that people died but said he could not give figures.
“Farm lands, houses and livestock were affected by the flood which was caused by the release of the water from Lagdo Dam and the heavy rainfall in the state,” he said.
“We are now going round the affected local government areas for proper assessment of the situation. All I could say is that the flood killed many people in the affected local government areas.
“As I talk to you now, I was just informed that there were corpses on the water floating, we are yet to compile the exact casualty.”
He said SEMA has erected two transit camps at Gwadabawa and Limawa in the state capital for the floods survivors.
Red Cross officials are also helping victims across the 13 local government areas, state secretary Abubakar Ahmad said.
“We have deployed our volunteers in each of the affected 13 local government to assist the affected families,” Ahmad said.
“Many lives were recorded to have been lost, ours is to rescue and give first aid assistance,” he added but failed give a specific death toll.
Yearly floods occur in these areas, and residents yesterday urged the government to talk to the Cameroon authorities to delay their annual water releases into the dry season.
“The Nigeria government should halt this, let the (Cameroon dam) water be released during dry season not in this period,” said Yola resident Samaila Dankole.
Daily Trust learnt that the government of the Northern Province of Cameroun had earlier told the Adamawa State Government of the excess water release.
Also, the state government on its part warned people living near river banks in the state to relocate to avoid possible flooding.
“What is more worrisome is the resistance by the people to vacate the flooded areas,” said the SEMA executive secretary.
Four killed in Niger floods
In Niger State, four people were reported to have died in floods caused by heavy rainfall at the weekend in Bosso and Wushishi local government areas.
Two brothers, Abubakar and Abdullahi Gwaibaita of Gungel village in Bosso LGA, were killed on their way home from farm, locals told Daily Trust yesterday.
The brothers were trapped in the bush as the foot path to home got flooded but when they attempted to cross over they were washed away to nearby Langau where their dead bodies were recovered.
Also, two herdsmen were drowned in flood waters while walking through a grazing route in Zungeru, Wushishi LGA and were killed.
Meanwhile homes as well as rice and sugarcane farmlands in Wuya Kede, Wuya Kanti, Batati and Muregi all in Mokwa local government area of the state were flooded.
Katsina: 8 injured, 100 homes destroyed
In Katsina State, at least 100 houses and 146 farms have been destroyed by flood in Kofa and Tofani villages in Kusada Local Government Area.
Eight people also sustained injuries during the flood which occurred on Friday in the two villages.
The flood was said to have destroyed 85 houses and 95 farms in Kofa village and 15 houses and 51 farms in Tofani village.
The victims were said to be squatting with their neighbours in the affected villages.
“Shortly after the flood, we visited the affected villages to sympathise with the victims,” caretaker chairman Alhaji Mansur Murnai said.
“The local council has set up a 12-man committee to assess the magnitude of the disaster.”
In an earlier flood incident in the state, about 1,400 houses were destroyed and 150 animals killed in Mai’adua Local Government Area.
Bridges submerged near Keffi
Torrential rains at the weekend submerged two bridges in the outskirts of Keffi in Nasarawa State, forcing travelers to change routes.
The flooded bridges are in Angwan Manyo, near Garaku, along Keffi-Akwanga raod; and Bokoko along Keffi-Junction-Agwada road.
The rain ceased by day break, but the devastation disrupted vehicular traffic till Friday afternoon when the waters receded.
“I began my journey from Lafi by daybreak. I was held up at the Angwan Manyo bridge for three hours. I crossed only after the water receded,” traveler Buhari Jibrin told Daily Trust.
State commissioner for works, Engr. Wada Yahaya Mohammed, who was on his way to inspect the completion of work on the Bokkoko bridge which was recently washed off, run into the Friday flood.
“The entire area was flooded. You wouldn’t know if there was a bridge there,” he said.
The floods in the Northern states came days after an alert issued by the Federal Ministry of the Environment which said at least 23 states across the country would be affected by floods. – DailyTrust