Nine persons dead, 7,000 households displaced as flood affects 19 LGAs in Niger

The Head of operations, office of the National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA) in Minna, Niger State, Hajiya Zainab Saidu has raised the alarm over the death of nine persons in the flood disasters that occurred recently in three Local Government Areas of Niger State.

According to NEMA, six persons died in Magama, two others in Kontagora and one person died as a result of flooding in Rafi LGAs of the state.

Hajiya Sai’du, whose NEMA Operations Office in Minna covers both Niger and Kwara States confirmed the incidents during an interview with the Tribune Online at the weekend in Minna. She stated that about 501 households built on the flood plains were displaced in the seven communities of Kontagora LGA.

Speaking further, she said several houses whose costs were yet to be ascertained were also destroyed in the process, as several household properties like clothes, electronic gadgets, floor carpets and rugs, shoes, cooking utensils, ceiling and standing fans among other properties were seriously damaged.

She stressed that the Kontagora Flood case that had attracted Media attention almost immediately following a condolence visit by the State Governor, Sani Bello led to the donation of relief materials to the surviving victims of the flood disaster as the people who were affected were living on the flood plains and waterways in the affected areas.Sai’du sated that about seven communities include: Bayan new Kasuwa, Mai Anguwa Tukura, BCJ area, Maiyanka Manyan Ward, Magajiya, Sabongari area and Rigasa area, including,Gangara UBA, were all affected in Kontagora LGA of the state.

The NEMA Boss, however, pointed out that these affected communities were built very close to a river called Fanta na Biyu, noting that Kontagora was not really a riverine community, but rather, a landlocked area, noting that “the recent floods in the council areas were caused by rivers that were charged during the raining seasons”.

Zainab Sa’idu further explained that NEMA officials were in Kontagora LGA following the unfortunate incident as observers against the backdrop of the fact that the Niger State Emergency Management Agency ( NSEMA) should have been the first disaster management agency to be contacted after it occurred, emphasizing that it was still within the capacity of the agency.

She further emphasised that as NEMA officials, she and her colleagues were still observing the coping capacity of NSEMA, stressing that if the state emergency management agency was overwhelmed that it would invite NEMA for Federal Government’s intervention.

Hajiya Sai’du explained that “NSEMA as a sister agency with NEMA, has been relating very well. But when we see that the floods explosion is very intensive we will come in because about 19 local government areas of the state have been so far affected and over 7,000 households have been displaced already because Niger State is having one of the largest landmasses in the country”.

She further mentioned that some of the 19 local government areas affected by flood disasters in the state include Kontagora, Rafi, Shiroro, Edati, Katcha, Bosso, Mashegu, Gurara, Wushishi, Agwara, Magama and Borgu LGAs among others

Meanwhile, Tribune Online, however, gathered that the victims, especially in Kontagora local government area of the state had been living on the flood plains for quite some time now, and have been getting away with the risks associated with the challenges over the years.

It was further learnt that not until last week when they had been unlucky with the flood disasters that had killed two of the residents and displaced about 501 households as yet an unspecified number of residential buildings were destroyed in the unfortunate incident.

Further checks revealed that the affected victims had since been allegedly asked to relocate elsewhere long before now, having been duelling compensated, but they were said to have bluntly refused to move.

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