In the last few weeks, scores have lost their lives, houses had been submerged, hundreds of people drowned, cash crops destroyed and livestock have perished as floods overrun buildings and farm lands in several parts of the country. Kunle AKINRINADE writes with reports from Okungbowa AIWERIE, Asaba; Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano; James AZANIA, Lokoja; Bolajoko MUBARAK, Lagos; Adekunle JIMOH, Ilorin; Rosemary NWISI, Port Harcourt; Mike ODIEGWU, Yenagoa and Nicholas KALU, Calabar.
NO fewer than five persons, including a 60-year-old visually impaired man and an 11-year-old boy, lost their lives when flood ravaged several communities in Okpai, Ndokwa East, Oshimili South council areas and Asaba, the capital of Delta State.
The visually impaired man, according to sources, drowned while he wanted to salvage his belongings from the water in Oko Anala community in Oshimili council area. His two sons were, however, rescued by bystanders.
A flood victim, Emmanuel Ekube, while narrating his ordeal, said his home in Powerline area had been submerged, adding that he fled to the IDP camp with his family of five.
“I ran to the IDP camp with my family after flood sacked Powerline area. Many people have moved out due to the floods. This is the second time I am leaving my home because of flooding. The government must do something about this suffering by the common man .My petty trading business has been disrupted, and I do not know what to do”.
Like Delta, residents of Kano State have gory tales to tell with torrential rainfalls resulting in heavy flooding. Several lives, properties and farmlands were lost as the rampaging flood overran agrarian communities in Dala, Dambatta, Rimin Gado, Gwarzo, Kabo, Tofa, Dawakin Tofa, Kiru, Shanono, Kura, Karaye, Gabasawa, Warawa, Wudil, Dawakin Gudu, Gaya, Taurani, Fagge and Garko. When The Nation visited the affected communities, residents were seen counting their losses and mourning their loved ones killed by the ravaging flood.
At Zugachi, a small community in Gabasawa Local Government Area, flood sacked the entire village, submerging houses, farm lands, business premises and killing livestock. Indigenes of this ill-fated community have been forced to take refuge in neighbouring towns and villages, after losing their ancestral homes to the rampaging flood.
One of the victims, Malam Ishyaku Yusuf, 60, a native of Augwa Makera in Kura Local Government Area, is currently taking refuge in a mosque, with his four-year-old surviving son, Useni, after losing his wife, Hajira, 30, and other children, Usman, 10; Khadija, 6, and Yusuf ,2, to heavy flooding which led to the collapse of his seven-room building.
Yusuf recounted with visible pains how he watched his house collapse as he and neighbours struggled to rescue members of his family, who were already fast asleep when the heavy rain started in the wee hours of the day. “On that fateful day, I had gone out for a family meeting. When it started threatening to rain, I rushed home, but on getting close to my house under the heavy down pour, I sensed danger. As I struggled to gain entrance into the house, the next thing I heard was a heavy sound as flood already covered everywhere.
“At that point, I helplessly watched my house collapse with my entire family inside. I cried and screamed for help. Neighbours came out, but it was too late. The havoc had been done as we could do little to save them. My good neighbours and I tried to search for the bodies of my wife and children. They were already gone; it was only Useni who survived that tragedy with severe injuries. He is the only one I have now. My wife is gone, my children are gone. I do not have a home. I sleep inside this Mosque with my only surviving son, Useni. I survive by the charity and kindness of my friends and brothers who make sure that at least, I eat. This is too difficult for me. I never expected that I would be a victim of this kind of calamity,” he added.
Another victim, Nura Suleiman Aliyu, 45, lost three acres of rice farm land to flooding in Dan Hassan community in Kura Local Government Area. According to him, the rice farm was his only source of livelihood from where he fends for his three wives and 20 children.
“Now that this tragedy has happened to me, how will I pay back the loan? In which farm land will I continue farming? How will I feed my wives and children?” he asked, while calling on government to come to their aid.
A 90-year-old victim, Malam Ibrahim Dankaka, cut a pitiable sight during an encounter with our correspondent. The tearful nonagarian, who sat in a corner of his ravaged home, lamented his fate saying: “I no longer have a home. I sleep here, I wake up here.”
Like Delta, Kano, like Lagos, others
The fury of the rain was also recorded in the Oko Afo area of Badagry, Lagos State recently. The flood, according to residents was caused by the poor collector drainage system and deplorable roads, in the community.
One of the residents, identified simply as Sadudeen, said: “The government has proposed so many times to construct the damaged road but that has not materialise.
“It’s going to be a great privilege for us if the government can make it a dream come true in the construction of the road,” another resident, Qudus Ismail, said. It was a tale of woes in Kogi State, after flood sacked people from their homes and destroyed crops worth millions of naira.
In Adankolo, a suburb of Lokoja, the state capital, and Ganaja village in Ajaokuta Local Government, residents fled their homes in droves after flood invaded their communities. Lamenting his plight, a resident of Gadumo, Ajaokuta Local Government Area, Asadu Bossi, said that the family’s rice farm was totally submerged.
“Never in my imagination did I think of this. The rice farm is gone; our houses are gone, and there is nothing left. The Vice President was here, and he gave us assurance that something will be done. We await help from above please, because our suffering is heavy on us.”
Over 200 houses were submerged and scores displaced in Ilorin, Kpasha,Pututa,Lalagi, Yikpata and Belle, among other communities in Kwara State, last month.
The most affected areas are Aduralere and lsale Koko communities in llorin East local Government area of the state.
At the moment, victims of the affected communities who had taken refuge in churches, mosques and residents of some neighbours have started returning to their homes.
Some of the affected residents said that the downpour, which lasted for several hours, caused an overflow of drainage channels in the two communities.
A community leader in Aduralere community, Alhaji Abdurasheed Jimoh, said the down pour caught him unawares.
“This is not the first time we are experiencing flood in our community, but this one came with an ugly and bitter experience as the drainage channels got filled up and submerged houses suddenly.
“Most of the buildings here have been submerged as their occupants have lost all their household property to the flood and are displaced,” he said.
A pall of grief descended on Ahoada West Local Government, Rivers State, three weeks ago, when an expectant mother and three others were killed in the wake of flooding in some coastal communities in the council area.
Ahoada West is one of the four coastal local government areas of the state ravaged by the flood. Others are Ahoada East; Abua/Odual and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA), the four council areas make up the “Orashi Kingdom,” apparently because of the popular Orashi river.
Bayelsa State has also tasted the fury of the menacing floods. Since 2012, flooding in the oil rich coastal state has assumed a dangerous dimension. Water levels from surrounding rivers, creeks and rivulets have risen, emptied into streets and destroyed buildings and farms, while mani natives have been rendered homeless.
Checks by The Nation revealed that almost all the communities in the eight local government areas in the state had been submerged by floods. Yenagoa, the state capital, is not spared as properties worth millions of Naira, including worship centers and public infrastructure such as schools and roads, had been lost to the floods.
Worst hit are Asamabiri, Elemebiri, Ekperiware and Adagbabiri and others in Sagbama local government areas.
Others are Sampou, Kaiama; Odi in Kolokuma Opokuma local government area, Biseni, Okordia –Zarama; Akenfa,Tombia-Amassoma Road, Igbogene in Yenagoa local government area, and Imiringi, Otuoke,Otuasegha, Ayama and Ayakoro in Ogbia local government area, Ayamasa, Aleibiri, Lalabgene,Obrigbene and Isampou in Ekeremor local government area.
Also, Trofani in Sagbama local government area, Odi and Akaranbi community in Opokuma Clan in Kolokuma Opokuma as well as Akassa in Brass Local Government Area of the state were submerged in floods.
A member of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Chika, said all the corps members serving in the affected communities had been recalled to Yenagoa, the state capital. She said roads leading to their areas of primary assignment had been overrun by flood waters.
“I used to take a commercial motorcyclist to my place of primary assignment at Yanaka. But the last time l tried going there, there was no road. Motorcycles could no longer access the place. I discovered that people now get there by canoes. I used a canoe too to go there”, she said.
In Cross River, about 200 houses have so far been lost to flooding in recent times, while 3000 people were rendered homeless.
Farmers along the Offor-Ekokol axis of Mkpani Community in Yakurr local government area in Cross River State recently cried out as floods destroyed their farms and crops worth millions of naira.
Intervention
The Coordinator, Emergency Operation Centre E, Rivers/Bayelsa Territory of NEMA, Mr. Yakubu Suleiman, said over 150,000 persons, several homes, farmlands, schools and churches were submerged in the affected communities.
He said the agency had intervened to ensure that the victims were free from diseases. Suleiman said that the displaced persons had been evacuated to a camp in Biseni, while some tents had been mounted at the Egbebiri community. He said: “We have carried out assessment on the affected communities, and we discovered that no fewer than 150, 000 persons have been displaced and the number keep growing because the water is rising daily.
“Several communities have been submerged; markets, schools, hospitals and churches are already under the water. We have cleared some portions of land for the IDPs at Biseni and we have mounted some tents at Egbebiri Community, all in Sagbama LGA.
“We have over 110 tents to be mounted in different locations; the emergency monitoring team is working round the clock to ensure that every affected home is assisted.
“The medical teams are on ground from the Federal and State Ministries of Health, to be assisted by members of the Red Cross Society, to avoid the spread of diseases as a result of polluted water.
“On portable water for the affected persons, we have brought water treated plants to be installed in the camp, so, that the people will have access to portable water”.
Even the governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, is disturbed by the tragedy that had befallen the state. The governor took out time to tour some of the affected communities. His hometown in Toru-Orua is also under water.
Dickson first released emergency numbers and called on the people to report flood disasters in Gberigbe domains to the government. He further set up a response team, headed by his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd), to coordinate activities to mitigate the disaster.
The commander in charge of National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) in Delta/Anambra States, Mr. Walson Iberekumo Brandon, noted that six local government areas in the state, including Ndokwa East, Oshimili South, Ughelli South, Pagani, Burutu and Bomadi are ‘heavily impacted.’
Brandon said the agency has stockpiled relief materials, adding that a census of the internally displaced persons’ camp in Ogbe-Afor Primary School IDP camp, Asaba, as at noon yesterday had 32 inmates.
But Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, in a swift reaction following an on the spot assessment of Oko communities in Oshimili South, directed that speedboats be deployed at the Onitsha end of the River Niger to rescue stranded residents of Oko-Ogbele, Oko- Anala, and Powerline communities.
Okowa assured that the IDPs will be adequately catered for at the seven camps set up in the affected communities, adding that relief materials have been stockpiled.
Okowa said 10 luxury buses have been deployed for conveying distressed victims to designated camps.
The Director-General of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, John Inaku, said many people have been forced to move out of their homes and property damaged due to the flooding caused by incessant and heavy rains.
Inaku said many in the hinterlands, who have been affected by the problem, have been forced to move to higher grounds for safety.
According to him, the state government was working to ameliorate the situation for those affected across the state.
Most affected by the situation are farmers in the hinterlands, who fear that their livelihood is being threatened.
The Kwara State government had earlier advised residents of the state living along banks of River Niger to immediately relocate to safer areas to avoid loss of lives and property that could result from impending flooding.
The state Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Mr Amos Justus, said the directive followed the alert of looming flooding 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.
The commissioner assured that his ministry would ensure strict compliance, and also urged residents of the state to shun indiscriminate dumping of refuse in water ways.
The Kogi State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Sanusi Yahaya, told newsmen in Lokoja, that the distribution of foodstuffs to flood victims was the first stage of intervention initiatives.
He noted that the National Emergency Maintenance Agency (NEMA) had also supplied some relief items, including mattresses, blankets and mats, to be distributed to the flood victims. The state government also procured food items for the victims at the camps.
“This is just the first batch of the distribution. More are still coming because His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, has approved the release of funds to get more foodstuffs,” said the commissioner, he said.
Speaking with The Nation in his office, the Executive Secretary of Sokoto Emergency Mangemnet Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Ali Bashir, told our correspondent that over N5billion was lost to flood in the state.
According to him, 31 people in the affected 10 local government areas, 10,500 houses and 35,000 farmers were affected. While those farmlands that were submerged are still been estimated.
He added that, “already, we have sent a memo to the state government notifying them of our findings on the flood disaster and they have promised to take prompt action.”
It will be recalled that Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had personally visited most of the affected areas where he commiserated with the victims and promised to do something urgently to alleviate their pains, sorrows and sufferings.
The coordinator of the Rivers/ Bayelsa states emergency operation centre, Yakubu Suleiman, said the agency has done on the spot assessment of the situation in the six LGAs affected in Rivers State and efforts are on to send materials to the victims.
They are Obio/ Akpor, Port Harcourt City, Ahoada West, Ahoada East, Abua/ Odual, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA).
It will be recalled that the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, had warned that thousands of residents may be displaced by floods this year.
LASEMA’s Head of Operations and Logistics, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Mr. Femi Giwa, warned that up to 5,000 residents of Lagos State may become homeless from floods and urged residents to clear blocked drains and move upland during coastal tidal change and ocean surges.
