The Adamawa State Government has called for intervention of the Federal Government over intermittent flooding, a repeat of which caused havoc in parts of the state capital, Yola, on Thursday, with human casualty now put at seven.
The state Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) had on Friday said five children drowned in parts of the city, but the Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr. Mohammed Suleiman, told our correspondent on Saturday afternoon that seven people had been ascertained to have died following the torrential rain and flood in the state.
The situation is equally critical in Imo State. It was learnt that no fewer than 60 houses have been submerged in Orsu Obodo in Oguta Council Area of Imo State as flood ravaged the riverine community on Friday night. The Nation also gathered that no fewer than 2000 people, including women and children, have been displaced as a result of flooding in the area.
It will be recalled that most communities in Oguta Council Area were submerged in 2012 during the flood that ravaged most part of the country.
In Adamawa, the ADSEMA Executive Secretary, who had on Friday pleaded for time to conclude inspection of affected communities, said on Saturday that, “The authentic figure is seven; with lost properties that I can now say will amount to a lot in financial terms when we finish our evaluation.”
He explained that in Kasuwa Buhu alone, several hundreds of bags of grains were destroyed by the flood, explaining however that the losses were still being complied and presented to the state government by the coming week.
Kasuwa Buhu, located in Jambutu, Yola North LGA, is a huge market place reputed for a thriving trade in grains. Other communities affected by the Thursday flood in the Yola capital metropolis include Bachure, Kofare, Wurojabe, Damilu and Yolde Pate in Yola North and Yola South LGAs.
In each of the communities, some houses and business premises were either completely lost or items in them destroyed, including Wurojabe, where a man was said to have lost two children because his house collapsed and water rushed freely in.
The Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Chief Crowther Seth, who paid a visit to some of the affected communities on Friday evening, said the losses were heavy and that the state government needed the intervention of the federal government to give succour to the affected residents and to solve ecological defects that predispose the capital city to frequent flooding
“Adamawa State Government cannot do it alone. We have the issue of IDPs. We have the issue of Boko Haram and of herdsmen and farmers. So, we cannot do it alone. We appeal to the federal government to come to our aid as soon as possible,” the deputy governor said.
According to some the flood victims in Imo State, they had gone to bed on Friday night while it was raining heavily without any premonition that the river was going to overrun the bank. “We were still in bed when the water started rushing into our homes and in less than 30 minutes, the whole place was covered by water.
“We could barely savage our property as we tried to save our lives first. We were not expecting such misfortune because our farms are submerged as well”.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Oguta State Constituency, Frank Ugboma, has called for urgent intervention from relevant government authorities to resettle the displaced persons and alleviate their plight
The lawmaker made the call on Sunday when he visited the flooded community to ascertain the level of havoc wrecked by the flood.
But Ugboma who expressed regret on the incident urged Imo State Government to provide immediate succour for the displaced people.
He said Oguta has been vulnerable to flood. “This is the constituency I am representing; our land is a flood prone area but I assure my people that I will surely present this problem to the floor of the house”, he said.
He added “I feel the pain of all of you and we are making effect to provide urgent succour for all of you so be assured that the government is aware of your problem”, he said.
Deputy Governor of Imo State, Mr. Gerald Irona, who accompanied the lawmaker during the assessment, attributed the incident to buildings erected on the waterways in the area.
He appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to intervene in the matter for both relief materials and other ways of assisting the flood victims.
Meanwhile, NEMA has given the total number of displaced people as two thousand, while also confirming that sixty houses were submerged in the area.
The Head of Imo/Abia operations office of NEMA, Mr. Evans Ugoh, urged government to muster political courage to demolish some houses built on the waterways in the area.
He said, on the sport assessment of the incident proved that while 60 houses were submerged, 2000 people were displaced.