By Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri: Noah Ebije, Kaduna; Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa; Aloysius Attah, Onitsha and Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Victims of ravaging floods in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and Kaduna State are recounting their ugly experiences and counting their losses even as the number of internally displaced persons continues to rise.
In other flood-prone parts of the country like Bayelsa, Anambra, and Benue states, where flood alerts have been raised, there is apprehension over possible flooding as witnessed in previous years.
To avoid being caught up in the flood, vulnerable persons are taking panicky measures.
In most of the states where the floods are expected, state governments are taking different measures to contain the flood and to mitigate the impacts on various communities and the people.
Borno: IDP camps swell, 2 million persons displaced
Two children of Mallam Mohammad Saleh would have been taken away by the massive flood in Maiduguri, capital of North-East Borno State on Tuesday, save for divine intervention.
The 42-year-old father of four had just fled his house in the GRA part of the city, having realised the water that was surging toward his neighbourhood could flood his home.
“I had just helped a family friend in a nearby street to pack a few of his belongings. I thought the flood wouldn’t get to my area. So I wasn’t prepared to move out of my area,” he told Saturday Sun.
But Mohammad was wrong as the angry flood swept through his neighbourhood about 30 minutes later.
Recalling his traumatic experience, Mohammad said: “I grabbed my two younger children while my wife and the two older ones picked a few things, and we ran out of the house.”
But hardly had Mohammed and his family reached the frontage of his house when the flood pushed its way into their house. The urgent need to help an elderly woman cross a water-filled drainage to another side of the street made him leave the children on the spot where they stood.
“The pressure of the water pushed my little children and was taking them down the road. They were rescued by two boys,” he disclosed.
While Mohammad was lucky to have his children rescued, Musa Kida, a resident of Gwange Ward, was not that fortunate. His five-year-old son drowned in the flood.
“I asked him to stay on a stool as we tried to evacuate some of our belongings, but the water suddenly poured in and he fell into it. We struggled to get him with the help of others but he was injured.”
Several other residents of Maiduguri have been recounting their ordeal since massive floods hit the city on Tuesday. Schools, hospitals, cemetery, state secretariat, churches and mosques, market, business centres and zoological garden were flooded, causing severe devastations, pains and anguish on the people.
As of Friday morning, almost half of the city was still submerged in water. Thousands of people displaced have been evacuated to IDP camps.
The city centre, which is the commercial hub of the capital, where the state secretariat, zoological garden, banks, churches, Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) and territorial office of the moribund Nigerian Telecommunication Service (NITEL), has been cordoned off.
The flood has also washed away many animals including snakes, crocodiles, and jackals, among others. Some of these animals have been killed in the flood while some may still be hibernating around the city centre.
Meanwhile, the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said it has rescued 3, 683 people trapped in their homes following the severe flooding in Maiduguri.
The Director-General of SEMA, Mr Barkindo Mohammed, made this known on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.
“As at 5pm on Thursday, SEMA evacuated 3, 683 persons from their homes in a rescue operation. The search and rescue operation is still ongoing.
“The mode of rescue involves motorboats, canoes, divers, military and fire service trucks among others.
“As the water continues to recede, we are concentrating on those who make distressed calls and will start search and rescue today and tomorrow,” Mohammed said.
According to him, about two million people were affected and so far SEMA has opened 14 official camps and many informal camps where displaced persons can go.
He said that the Federal Government has supported the state with N3 billion and food consignments.
“President Bola Tinubu has supported Borno and other states with N3billion each.
“The Gov. Babagana Zulum State has forwarded the money to SEMA and he has added more on what the federal government gave.
Kaduna: Victims recount ordeal, beg authorities to rebuild homes
For the past three weeks, many victims of the devastating flood that swept through several homes in Kaduna communities have been staying in some local government secretariats designated as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.
A flood victim, Shaibu Abdulhamid from Chikaji, Sabon Gari Local Government Area in Zaria, narrated his experience to Saturday Sun on phone. He said: “On August 26, it rained throughout the night, and the whole place was flooded. The children now alerted me from their room that the water had reached the window level of their room and that I should come and see.
“When I went to check the room, I saw that the compound was already flooded. I started looking to see if we could go through the flood to the area that was safer. So my wife and I carried our younger children on our backs and moved to a safer place in the neighbourhood.
“The following day we were moved to the local government secretariat by government officials and we were fed for three days.
“Those who were affected by the flood were coming to the IDPs camp to feed and go back to their houses later in the day. But I couldn’t do that because my own house was badly affected.
“Some politicians came to our aid and gave each victim N9,300. But three days later there was another heavy rain. And I continued to stay in the camp. So as we speak we are still in the camp.”
The village head of the Chikaji community, Auwal Sani-Danbaba, has expressed frustration that despite the severity of the incident, the victims are not readily attended to by the state government.
“Presently, some victims of the flood are sheltered in the neighbourhood. So far, there has been no loss of lives. We are in dire need of support to rebuild our homes and our lives. We urge the government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to our aid,” the village head added.
Another victim, Murtala Muhammad of Kindaza Road, Kafanchan said flood has become an annual occurrence in the area, adding that people’s houses have become inaccessible during downpour.
Muhammad who lamented that the heaps of refuse in the community was causing residents, especially children, a lot of diseases, called on the government to come to their aid by evacuating the refuse, believing that such will end the recurrence of flood in the community
Saturday Sun gathered that most flood victims are currently squatting with relations of less affected communities.
Vice Chairman of Jema’a LGA, Mrs Christy Usman said the flood incidents which occurred in parts of Kafanchan Municipal City, Jagindi, Atuku, Aso and Bade wards washed away farmlands destroying crops worth millions of naira.
Her words: “The flood has affected people of Jema’a Local Government economically, but we are happy that the governor, Senator Uba Sani has responded positively by sending the committee chaired by the Chief of Staff, Malam Sani Liman Kila to come and assess the impact of the flood.
“Apart from farmlands washed away by the flood, over 1,000 people were affected. From a canal here in Kafanchan, two children were reported to have been taken away by the flood.
“We are therefore hopeful that the government will bring relief materials to the victims, especially food items, building materials and financial assistance,” she said.
Chairman of Lere Local Government, Hon. Mathew Bulus Gambo expressed appreciation to Gov. Uba Sani for setting up a high-powered committee, saying that, such is a demonstration of the governor’s commitment addressing the people’s plights.
He lamented the collapse of the bridge that links Saminaka and other communities, saying it has crippled the economic activities in those areas due to the fact that Lere local government is an agrarian community.
Members of a committee on flood set up by the Kaduna State government have embarked on a fact-finding mission to the affected villages.
The committee chaired by Governor Uba Sani’s Chief of Staff, Mallam Liman Sani Kila has been to affected local government areas, which include Sabon Gari, Jema’a, Sanga, Lere, amongst others.
Anambra: Apprehension over rising water level, farmers embark on premature harvest
There is apprehension across different flood-prone areas of Anambra State as water level from River Niger has continued to rise, forcing some farmers to embark on premature harvest of crops to beat the impending disaster.
As at last Thursday, the water level had risen above the embankment of the bridge at the Head Bridge area of Onitsha.
Some farmers in Ogbaru who spoke to our reporter within the river banks of Odekpe community lamented that they were already incurring losses owing to the panic harvest.
Margaret Akpati who was seen selling many tubers of yam she harvested along the river bank, told Saturday Sun that this situation has become a recurring nightmare for farmers in the area without any form of support from the government.
“We are selling off our farm produce so we can also get money and settle our obligations to some of the cooperatives we borrowed from. The implication is that our yams will soon finish and there would be nothing for the next planting season. This is more hardship starring us in the face,” she lamented.
Martin Chinwuba who resides in Onitsha told Saturday Sun that his people in Olumbanasa are already relocating and taking precautionary measures because they wouldn’t like to be caught napping like what happened two years ago when flood submerged houses and even led to the death of many from the community.
As part of precautionary measures, the Onitsha National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has organised a stakeholder’s safety sensitisation programme over the impending flooding.
Suleiman Nicholas, NIWA area manager, noted that flood disaster occurs when an area is inundated with water owing to heavy rainfall, which can cause significant damage to both life and properties.
Consequently, the Onitsha area office of the authority is collaborating with the state government and other stakeholders to sensitise various communities living along the banks of River Niger in Anambra and Delta states to vacate the flood-prone areas.
He proposed the establishment of a committee comprising NIWA, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties; Government House; the State Emergency Management Agency; the Nigerian Navy; community leaders; and civil society organisations to continue sensitisation and advocacy on safety and management of the impending flooding as well as monitoring the level of water in the affected riverine communities.
Paul Odenigbo, Executive Secretary, Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, disclosed that many community farmlands had already been submerged, following increased water level.
He said the state government had concluded arrangements through the flood response committee, headed by the deputy governor, to ensure that those that will be displaced are taken care of during their stay in camps.
Odenigbo urged the federal government to dredge the rivers or to construct dams as a permanent solution to the annual flooding in the country.
Bayelsa: Anxiety over flooding, as state govt announces school closure
Residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital and other coastal communities in the state are now living in fear as indications have emerged that the perennial flood in the state will soon arrive.
A two-hour rain in major parts of Yenagoa on Tuesday left many homes flooded even with assurances from government quarters that the flood would not affect the state.
At Samphino Road, the rainwater entered several homes, bringing back a sad memory of how the 2022 flooding began in the state.
An environmentalist, Alagoa Morris of the Environmental Defenders Network, who resides in the area, said his kitchen and rooms were flooded.
“I have an event to attend and there is no place in the house to change my clothes and go out. The good thing is that we are relocating from here this week,’’ he told Saturday Sun.
Unlike the Morris family, several other families may have to endure the trauma of living with the waters if the floods eventually come.
“The little rain that fell today has heightened fears of the impending flood. The floods are here and I hope the Bayelsa State government is ready to be on top of the situation and not wait like in 2022 when it was overwhelmed by pressure. I am moving my family to Port Harcourt before the weekend,” said Abraham Fieye, a resident.
The popular Azikoro Road was taken over by waters, which also affected vehicular movement while at the Cemetery Road, opposite the central bank office, homes were flooded.
Also, in Amarata, residents rescued four pupils who fell into a ditch while on their way home from school.
Residents have complained that most roads in the state have no drainages and where they exist, the drainages are too narrow to allow for easy flow of water. That, they said, makes it easy for floods to overrun several areas in the state because the natural channels are blocked.
In preparation for the flood, the state government has already announced October 4th for all schools in the state to be shut for flood break. Schools in the state resumed in the first week of August to cover enough academic grounds before the flood break. The schools are expected to resume on November 18th when the flood would have receded.
Though the state government through the Ministry of Environment has embarked on clearing of natural canals to mitigate the effect of flood, residents of the state believed these actions are not enough to assure residents of Yenagoa that the state government is ready for the 2024 flood.
Benue: Water level rising, govt says no cause for alarm
Residents of Makurdi the Benue State capital have expressed anxiety over raging water levels in flood-prone parts of the country, calling on federal and state governments to take proactive steps to forestall communities being submerged.
Those living by the river banks around Wadata, Wurukum, Kuch Utebe among other flood plains said they are praying that there should be no flooding in Benue.
Hajia Hauwa Isah, a resident of Wadata, a river bank area of Makurdi, told Saturday Sun that residents have noticed that the water level was rising around the New Garage area and Upper Wadata. She expressed the hope that the water would not overflow its banks and cause flooding in the state.
Also speaking, Tom Kondom, who resides behind Kucha Utebe, a community along Km3, Gboko Road, expressed worries that there could be massive flooding in Benue if urgent steps were not taken by the government.
“We are worried. The truth remains that because of the hardship, we don’t know what to do. So, we are praying and hoping that it doesn’t affect Benue this time around. But we are worried.
“Most of us rented apartments to put our belongings. Personally, when it happened the last time, I had to take my children to stay with some of my relatives pending when the flood receded.
“Because of perennial flooding, some of the shops here have not been occupied for years and business is near comatose in this area. So, we are pleading with the government to do something about it urgently too.”
Jennifer Gum and Elizabeth Shiter, who also reside at Km3 in Makurdi, also expressed worries.
Gum said: “After what we suffered in 2012 and 2022, I am very worried. When I see videos of what is happening in Maiduguri, it brings back memories that are not good.
“The last time was in 2022 and we had to pack to stay with my friends in Judges Quarters. We only returned when the water dried up and before we came back, snakes and other dangerous reptiles had evaded our homes. So we are worried. I’m even beginning to wonder where I would go this time if this flood gets to Benue this time.”
Meanwhile, the Benue State government said its officials are monitoring the situation to ensure that the state is not taken by surprise.
Hon. Odoh Ugwu, Commissioner for Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, said the water level in the state has risen to 08.88 metres.
He, however, said there is no cause for alarm, noting that the state government was monitoring the situation and putting measures on ground to prevent the state from being taken unawares.
Ugwu said: “The situation in Benue State is under control, we are putting all modalities on ground to make sure we are not taken unawares.”
He said that as of Wednesday, September 11, the water level had gone up to 08.88metres, explaining that the state can only raise an alarm when it gets to 10 meters.
“The water level is rising but gradually. As of Friday, September 6, 2024, the water level was 0.50 metres. By Saturday it rose to 08.65 and today, it is 08.88 metres.
“At this level, we need to inform the people, especially those living by the river banks in the flood-prone areas and the waterways to move to higher grounds while we watch the situation.”
The commissioner who noted that this year’s water level is better compared to the readings of last year’s water level said: “We don’t want to raise alarm now but we are working and preparing against any eventuality to make sure that lives and property are protected.
