Eleven
persons were at the weekend confirmed dead in a flood disaster caused by
a five-hour downpour in Suleja and parts of Tafa Local Government Areas
of Niger State
even as many were injured and houses as well as other
property were destroyed.
It was gathered
that nine persons were killed by the flood at Checheniya area of Suleja,
one at Kuspa area of the town, while one other died at Ayin -Nassarrawa
in Tafa Local Government Area of the state.
It was learnt that
though the five-hour rain submerged and destroyed houses and property
worth several millions of naira in Kaltuma and Angwan Gwari in Suleja
Local Government Area of the state, no live was lost in those areas.
It was further
gathered that some of the victims of the flood disaster who lost their
lives were members of same family and their bodies were yet to be
recovered as at the time of filing this report but the search was still
on to recover the bodies.
The Director
General of the state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Ibrahim
Ahmed Inga, who confirmed the incident to journalists last night, said
members of the agency’s search and rescue operation were at the sites of
the disasters with other volunteers.
He stated that so
far, two of the bodies of those killed by the flood had been recovered
but the search and rescue operation was still on to recover the
remaining bodies while efforts are being made to attend to those injured
and ameliorate the sufferings of those whose houses were submerged.
“As I am talking to
you now, the search and rescue operation is going on and now two bodies
have been recovered. Initially, we thought it was eight people who lost
their lives in Suleja but now it has increased to 11 and we have
another one from Tafa.”
Meanwhile, the
Lagos State Government yesterday blamed flooding in some parts of the
state from storm water on high-tide of the lagoon, blocked drains from
construction of buildings and solid waste dump.
The state
Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, stated this after
he inspected areas that were flooded after several days of steady
rainfall.
Adejare said: “The
lagoon is swollen up, there is high tide, so it would lock on outflows,
and the water would not recede or go into the lagoon as fast as it used
to be. So, that is one of the main reasons why we are having flooding
all over the place coupled with our own man-made problems such as people
blocking the drainage channels; people building on drainage channels,
those are what have also been causing all these problems.
“That is a criminal
thing to do, it is not good, and their actions can lead to loss of
lives and definitely damage properties, so they should stop it because
it would affect some people adversely.
“You do not need to
dump refuse in drainages; eventually we would come to pick them up and
with our improved services through the reforms that we are carrying out,
there would not be anything like that, we would be evacuating solid
waste faster than we have done.”
The government, he
said, was doing all that was necessary to protect life and property of
people in the affected areas. “We are on top of the situation. The
government is concerned by the recent occurrence of flooding in some
parts of Victoria Island, Lekki, Oniru and its environs, and our
emergency lines, 112 and 767, are open 24 hours a week for residents to
report any emergency situation.”
He said the
government was concerned about the safety of residents, hence the
continuous call on those living in flood-prone areas to relocate
temporarily until the rain stops.
“Like we have been
telling them, if the rain still persists, please don’t go out of your
homes, except you are living by the coast or by the low line. If you are
one of those people, you have to move upland, move away from the coast
until the rain recedes. But if you are living upland and it’s raining
persistently and it’s not necessary or compulsory for you to go out,
please stay indoors.
“If you also have
contact with flood water, wash your hands always, and whatever has been
touched by the flood water should not be eaten, it’s important,” he
said.
A viable solid waste management system was
being evolved through the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, which was one of the
ongoing reforms in the environment sector.
The commissioner
said: “This is a transition period; most importantly, it’s not that the
reforms have taken so long, you need to plan very well so that you don’t
plan to fail. We are making sure that when we start, we don’t hope to
fail, we hope to give our people a world class service in solid waste
management, that’s what we are planning for and we need to take our time
to do that and give Lagosians good service. It would commence, it would
succeed and it would give us a better way of managing our solid waste
here.”
He urged residents
to continue to maintain a high level of cleanliness, especially in
disposing their refuse, promising that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led
administration would not relent in its efforts until it achieves a
cleaner Lagos.
Adejare said: “I
want to tell our people, no pain, no gain!. To embark on any kind of
reform is always very tedious, as a government, the priority is to see
these reforms through and to make our people live better. Our refuse
should not be a disgrace to us, it should be a resource, and that’s what
we intend to pursue.”
Meanwhile, the
fourth-day running, heavy downpour in Ibadan has wreaked havoc in some
communities within the city as they are experiencing flooding with its
attendant sacking of many families from their homes.
Areas like Odo-Ona
Kekere, Arapaja, Akala Way and Gbekuba areas of the city in Oluyole,
Ibadan South West, Ido Local Government Area respectively, are worst hit
by the continuous rain which peaked last Sunday for close to seven
hours.
In Odo-Ona Kekere, it was gathered that water flooded some houses on the river bank, which resulted in occupants moving out.
A resident of the area, Funmilayo Olode, said that a river over-flew its banks but did not submerge the bridge over it.
“I just left my
house now and realised that some houses were flooded because of the
rain. Just after Odo-ona Kekere on the way to Arapaja, there is a river
that flows across the road. There is a bridge over it at a point.
Although the water did not flow over the bridge, houses close to the
river on both sides were affected. I saw residents standing outside
their houses,” Olode said.
The South-West
Coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yakubu
Suleyman, said he was yet to be informed by the state office of the
agency.
He, however, added that flooding was expected in areas where people do not obey planning rules.
Suleyman said:
“What is happening in Ibadan cannot be compared with the situation in
Lagos. The Ibadan office has not notified me which means that the
situation is not out of hand there.
“The state government is doing its best but people do not obey planning rule.”
Secretary of Oyo
State Emergency Management Authority, Akin Makinde, confirmed the
flooding in some areas, adding that there was no casualty.
“There were cases
of flooding in Akala area of Orita Challenge and some other areas. There
are no casualty but we are still inspecting the areas.
“The problem is
that people built houses on water ways. The government is dredging the
rivers but our people must help themselves,” he said.