Three Killed, Eight Missing in Gombe Rainfall, Says SEMA

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

The Gombe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has confirmed the death of three persons with eight others missing following the heavy rainfall witnessed in Gombe Monday night.

According to the Executive Secretary of SEMA, Dr. Danlami Arabs Rukujei, who spoke to journalists Wednesday over their findings, SEMA used the whole of Tuesday to access the entire Gombe, the state capital, and its environs and came up with a casualty figure of three deaths, eight missing persons and the destruction of 20 houses.

Gombe experienced heavy rainfall Monday night between 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm resulting in the death of Mohammed Bello Musa, who died shortly after leading prayers at the mosque opposite the Gombe Government House.

THISDAY checks revealed that Mohammed was overpowered by the rain when he tried to adjust his car to a better parking space but the flood swept him away while in the car to another part of the town where he was later rescued but was confirmed dead on reaching the hospital.

However, explaining its findings, SEMA’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Rukujei, stated that: “We went out today based on reports reaching us this morning, so far we’ve confirmed the loss of three lives, including that of a prominent Islamic scholar and the destruction of 20 houses.

“We are grateful to God that looking at the magnitude of the rain, the amount of drainage work that has been done in Gombe has really assisted in minimising the damage that would have occurred.

“We have reports of about eight people who have not been accounted for, those are the ones the corps have not sighted, so, we are not in a position to know what has happened to them,” he explained.

Speaking on government’s intervention in terms of assistance to those affected, Rukujei stated that they just concluded their assessment, adding that: “It took us the whole day to go round to evaluate the report we have and tomorrow we will be submitting our findings.”

He said government will continue to sensitise the public on the need not to block their drainages and other water ways and other issues that has to do with safety of the environment.

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