Floods Kill 18 Persons in Kano

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Just a week after it issued a warning, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has disclosed that 18 persons lost their lives in floods, which affected 22 local government areas (LGAs) of the state. The agency also said properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by the floods.

According to a statement made available to THISDAY on Saturday, NEMA North-west Zonal Coordinator, Musa Ilallah, revealed that the massive floods had ravaged the 22 LGAs in the last two weeks.

According to him, properties including houses and farmlands worth more than N700 million were also lost by about 1,000 victims lost to the floods. “The worst affected local government areas are Shanono, Bagwai, Kiru with 749 victims and N347 million worth of properties damaged.

The statement revealed that, “the other LGAs affected are Rano, Kibiya, Bunkure, Gabasawa, Dawakin Tofa, Kano Municipal, Danbatta, Takai, Dawakin Kudu, Karaye, Rogo, Kura, Wudil, Bichi, Sumaila, Garun Mallam, Ungogo, Bebeji and Warawa.”

NEMA advised the communities along the river Niger to evacuate immediately to safer ground over the likelihood of floods that may occur at any moment.

The Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, had received alerts of the flood from information given by the authorities in the Republic of Niger that the present water level in the river had reached a point that might result in the flood that could be compared with the unfortunate experience of 2012.

The NEMA zonal coordinator said a final phase of the multi-stakeholders’ team of assessors comprising officials from SEMA, NEMA, Red Cross, NSCDC and officials of the affected LGAs will visit the worst ravaged 3 LGAs of Kiru, Shanono, Bagwai this week. He commiserated with the government and people of Kano state over the loss of lives and also sympathised with those who lost their properties in the floods.