In the last few weeks, states across the country have recorded a strange unanimity as a result of ravaging floods leaving a devastating trail of tears, losses, deaths, wastelands and irreparable damages. From one end of the country to another, the floods have only compounded the already traumatic lot of the populace. KEHINDE OYETIMI, BIOLA AZEEZ and HENDRIX OLIOMOGBE, with agency report, write on the impacts of the flooding.
When the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Maihaja, placed all disaster response units across the country on red alert, not many had taken him serious. He identified 12 frontline states that could be prone to flood this year. As things stand, the ravaging presence of the flood has been unprecedented in some of the places affected.
Edo residents bemoan fate
Every dark cloud in Benin which is supposed to bring forth a mighty outpouring of rain is cause for deep despair. With the coming of the rains, the Edo State capital has no doubt been floored by flood. In many neighbourhoods: from Uwelu to Saint Saviour, Textile Mill Road, Owina Road, Erhunmwunse, Evbuotubu, Agho, Second Cemetery to so many others, the reality of the situation is the same.
Worst hit areas are Saint Saviour, Upper Adesuwa in Government Reserved Area (GRA), Ogiso Street, Sapele Road by the bypass, Anigboro and Environs, off Ugbowo as well as Erediauwa Street which connects Sapele Road and Upper Sakponba areas.
Uwelu Road from Ogida Market just off the Textile Mill Road looks like a ghost town. Marked with deep gullies, abandoned houses, grasses in the middle and water-logged, Uwelu Road is in a sorry state. The few motorists, mostly commercial drivers, who dared drove across always have a terrible tale to tell.
Born and raised in the neighbourhood, a resident, Mr. Friday Ogbewe wailed that Idahosa Street which is just off the main road is a no go area. Where cars and lorries are afraid of plying for fear of being damaged, only tricycles rush in.
Ogbewe stated that he had to relocate his wife and children to Siluko Road because of the stagnant water and the terrible situation of the road. He confessed that he had not driven his car home in the last two years because of the flooded environment.
He explained that the flooded part of the street used to be a lively area. Inhabited mostly by Igbo people, it was called Igbo camp. There were about six houses owned by one Mr. West Idahosa and another 20 houses owned by different landlords.
“All the houses, about 26, have been submerged by water. Nobody lives there anymore. It used to be a very lively area until water swept it away,” he said.
He said that presently so many houses are unoccupied because of the flood, emphasizing “who will want to live in this God forsaken area? I am only living here because I inherited the house from my father and so I cannot abandon it.”
A tricyclist who is a native of Ebonyi simply gave his name as Isaiah. According to him, he had spent a fortune changing several gear boxes in his automobile as water easily damaged it.
Fuming, a community leader in Ogida, Enoyoze Roberts said that it beats his imagination why enough has not been done to alleviate the suffering of the community of over 100,000 people.
“We would rather no longer have rain”
He added that “there were no drainages on the road after it was constructed. It was a shoddy work as the road was not properly tarred and ended at the Volvo line of Uwelu Motor Spare Parts Market. Right from Vow close to First Otamere, the road is bad. We find it very difficult going to Uwelu nowadays. We have to go to Teacher’s House by Ogida barracks before taking a tricycle along the power line to Uwelu. It is hectic. Uwelu is very close but yet very far from us. Here in Uwelu Road, Ogida, rain is pain. We would rather it doesn’t rain here if we have our way.”
A resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity added that in one of the worst affected areas, Osayomore Aigbe, the problem was compounded by poor construction work by various tiers of government and government agencies.
Residents lose properties in Ilorin as flood ravages 72 communities
For residents of Ilorin, the concern being expressed in the metropolis is that the amount of rainfall in parts of the state is not enough to cause high level of flood being experienced.
Recently, properties worth millions of naira were lost to the flood caused by the downpour last Thursday night in parts of the Kwara State capital.
The downpour which started at about 8:00pm continued till the early hours of Friday morning. Some of the affected areas include Harmony Estate, Akerebiata, Gerin Alimi, Isale Koko, and Kulende among other parts of the state capital.
The flood swept many vehicles, several metres away, from where they were parked in some areas. Among affected victims of the flood were concrete block makers and traders of bagged food items, tailoring materials and household items, among other wares.
Residents of the affected areas, who spoke with journalists, said that the effect of the flood was more pronounced due to narrow drainages, which they said quickly got filled up by the downpour, thus flooding the affected homes and shops.
It will be recalled that the Kwara State government advised residents living along banks of River Niger to immediately relocate to safer areas to avoid loss of lives and property that could result from impending flood.
The State Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Mr Amos Sayo Justus, who gave the piece of advice on Friday, said the directive followed the alert of looming flood issued by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA).
He, therefore, called on residents of riverine communities in Lafiagi, Patigi, Jebba and other flood-prone areas in the state to immediately relocate to avoid casualties.
NiHSA also warned of possible flooding in seven states of the federation including Kwara. Other vulnerable states identified by the agency are Niger, Kebbi, Kogi, Delta, Anambra and Bayelsa.
The agency disclosed that both Kainji and Jebba dams were already spilling water downstream while the level of water in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital has exceeded the corresponding value in 2012.
Meanwhile, a Kwara-based Civil Society Organisation, Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), blamed the development on the failure of the state government to implement the master plan designed for the state capital as well as alleged refusal to enforce compliance with building regulations across the state.
Coordinator of ENetSuD, Dr. Alagbonsi Abdullateef, said it has become necessary for the state government to rise to the challenge as the group joined the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) and the Kwara state government in the call for immediate relocation of residents of communities in Kwara state along the banks of River Niger.
Consequent upon the flood which ravaged over 72 communities in the riverine area of Edu local government area of Kwara state, the chairman of the Council, Umar Sands Belle, called on the state and federal governments to come to the aid of the council to provide succour for the victims.
Speaking with journalists, the chairman, who was represented by his vice, Abdullahi Usman Musa Kpasha, said that the flood has rendered hundreds of family members homeless in the districts of the council and urged the state government to assist them.
“It will be recalled that the Kainji Dam Authority has warned communities in the bank of river Niger to relocate as there has been increase in the volume of water in the river. Among the affected communities were Kpasha, Pututa, Lalagi, Yikpata, Belle, and many others,” he said.
Flood death toll rises to 21 in Jigawa
It has been a potpourri of tragedy for Jigawa following the loss of lives occasioned by the flood. According to the Executive Secretary of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, Yusuf Sani Babura, the death toll rose to 21. Reports gathered had earlier indicated that 16 people lost their lives in Ringim, Jahun and Miga local government areas of the state following the overflow from the River Hadejia. He had reported that the death toll increased after five other people lost their lives in four local government areas of the state. He revealed that 100 bags of groundnut cake, salt, sugar and 3000 bags of garri had been released by his agency as food relief to those affected.
Kano records nine deaths
Sharing in the tragedy, a pained Kano State government announced the deaths of nine persons while five others were seriously injured from flood disasters in about nine local government areas in the state.
The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SERERA), Alhaji Ali Bashir, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano.
Bashir said the disaster also affected more than 4,475 persons in the nine local government areas of the state.
He explained that five persons lost their lives in Rimin Gado, three at Gabasawa and one in Getso town, Gwarzo Local Government Area.
“So all in all nine persons lost their lives and five others sustained injuries in the disaster. A total of 4,475 people were affected by the flood,’’ the scribe said.
According to him, the agency’s personnel are still compiling reports from five other local government areas hit by the disaster.
“We have a total of 15 local government areas that were hit by flood and so far we have completed assessment of the situation in nine of the 14 LGAs,” Bashir said.
Niger: Flood sacks 100 communities, kills 40
It is indeed a sad year for Niger State. From one local government area to the other, the tragedies have been heartbreaking. Mokwa, Lavun, Edati, Katcha, Agaie, Lapai, Lavun, Shiroro, Bida, Katcha, Edati, Mariga, Kontagora, Wushishi, Suleja among others, have had their share of the disaster. Over 100 communities have been submerged by the flood in the state, leading to 40 deaths. Reports have it that about 22 out of the 25 local government areas in the state have been affected. Arable farmlands included cultivated farmlands have been washed away; farm animals like cows, chickens and goats were swept away in the rampaging disaster.
In many parts of the state, connecting community bridges collapsed as a result of the torrential strength of the flood. While on an on-the-spot assessment of some of the affected places, the state governor stated that the disaster was more than the state could handle, calling on the Federal Government for immediate assistance.
Flood destroys 175 houses, renders 3000 homeless in Cross River
No fewer than 175 houses were destroyed with about 3000 people rendered homeless in Cross River State.
Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency, John Inaku, stated this while giving out update on the flood disaster in the state
According to him, “Cross River has always been affected by flood during the raining season. Currently, we have more than 175 houses destroyed and as a result, more than 3,000 persons have been displaced. This menace has greatly affected farming activities, especially in Boki, Yala and a few others areas.”
While no life was lost, affected areas include Calabar Municipality, Yala, Calabar South, Boki, Ogoja and other local government areas in the state. Within the state capital, the affected areas include Muritala Mohammed Highway, Ebito, Murray, Target and Nelson Mandela, Atu, Yellow Duke, Parliamentary, Efiote roundabout and Mayne Avenue streets.
The post Homeless, helpless, hopeless: It’s only trauma for Kano, Edo, Kwara, Jigawa, Niger, Cross River flood victims appeared first on Tribune.
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