Laleye Dipo in Minna
Floods occasioned by heavy rainfall has claimed not less than seven lives in communities in Magama and Rafi local government areas of Niger State.
Six of those that died are from Magama Local Government Area while one died in Rafi Local Government Area.
The flood also destroyed several properties including houses and farmlands with more than 2,000 people rendered homeless.
The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Ahmed Inga, said in a statement made available to journalists in Minna yesterday that the incidents have also affected the socio-economic activities of people in the communities.
“The state has started experiencing the negative impact of flooding with houses, farmlands, bridges and some linked roads washed away in some LGAs located at up and down streams of the four dams. These rendered many homeless and has affected the socio-economic activities of the communities.”
According to Inga, “The general assessment of the rainfall impacts is still ongoing and periodic updates will be made public as it unfolds,” calling on, “all the stakeholders, the traditional institutions, well-meaning Nigerlites and the media to help in propagating this information as disaster management is a business of all.”
According to him, Niger State is one of the five states where uninterrupted rainfall will take place for four days as predicted by Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET signals announced by the organisation which include clearing of drainages and flushing away stagnant water to avoid breeding mosquitoes, use of treated mosquito nets to).
He advised the people to heed the early warning prevent malaria and switching off of all electrical appliances when not in use.
The NiMET boss counselled the people to stop indiscriminate felling of trees and plant more trees to serve and preserve the environment against desertification and flooding.
Inga further asked the people to limit their activities around river banks during this peak of the rainy season to avoid being flooded before asking those in the riverine communities to relocate upland for their personal safety.
