Nigerians have continued to count their losses as floods continue to wreak havoc across the country.
With communities in Niger, Kwara, Borno and Lagos states yet to recover from their losses, flood disasters, yesterday, hit communities in Ebonyi and Nasarawa states, leading to loss of lives and properties.
At least eight people were reportedly killed and over 800 farmlands destroyed as the disaster ravaged Enohia Itim, a community in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The Chairperson of Afikpo Local Government Area of the state, Timothy Nwachi, confirmed the incident to reporters on Sunday, in a statement issued by his media aide, Sunday Nkama.
The LGA chairman expressed pains over the incident, and consoled the families of the deceased, as he assured that the local government council will do everything to prevent a recurrence.
He, however, raised the alarm of further flooding of the communities, and urged the people still residing in flood-prone areas to relocate to safer ground.
“We are deeply sad over the unfortunate incident, and we are using this medium to extend our condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.
“As a government, we will support them and pledge to collaborate with relevant state and federal agencies to provide humanitarian assistance and timely relief to those affected,” he assured.
According to the statement, the councilor representing Itim Ward in the Afikpo Legislative Council, Francis Okpani, said out of the eight people who lost their lives, three bodies have been recovered, while five were still missing.
The councilor recalled that the Federal Ministry of Environment had predicted that Afikpo was one of the areas in Nigeria likely to experience flooding.
“I had earlier implored the people of Afikpo to incorporate climate change projections into flood-risk management plans,” he said.
In Nasarawa state, properties worth several millions were lost as flood ravaged Nasarawa communities submerging hectares of farmlands in Loko, border community to River Benue in Nasarawa local government area, and Bassa in Kokona local government area of the state.
The Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, (NASEMA), Ben Akwash, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on Monday in Lafia.
Akwash disclosed that though the extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained, the flood swept the entire farms with nothing to recover, regretting that the incident at Bassa was not predicted by NIMET.
The NASEMA boss, however, noted that aggressive sensitisation is currently ongoing across all the flood-prone communities to ensure people are moved upland before the impending flood happens.
“We have held several sensitisation meetings with all the communities prone to flooding and agreed with village heads and traditional rulers to persuade the locals who may want to see the flood coming before they move to kindly plead with them because we have provided safe havens in all the flood-prone communities in the event of a flood,” he said.
Akwash also hinted that Governor Abdullahi Sule, because of his passion and concern for those likely to be affected, procured adequate relief materials in stock against any eventuality, calling on flood-prone communities to take proactive actions in line with warnings by the federal government by moving to uplands now that the rainfall is on the increase.
“We are working hand in hand with community leaders, local chiefs and youth groups to talk to some locals who remain adamant despite repeated warnings and appeal to move to uplands ahead of the flood.