Two persons have lost their lives as a result of massive flooding that ravaged over 18 communities in Nasarawa State.
State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Nawani Aboki, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Lafia, the state capital, said the flood displaced many people and destroyed several buildings and farmlands.
He said following the incident, Governor Abdullahi Sule directed the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to visit all the affected communities, adding that the agency was working on a report to be submitted to the government for concrete action.
The commissioner, who said he was at the affected communities with the chairman of the local government to sympathise and condole with the victims, confirmed that two persons had been killed in the flooding.
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He said the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are taking refuge in communities on higher grounds, noting that in Agwama alone over eight communities are camped, while in Loko and other areas, four to five communities are clustered, a situation that has become a burden to the host communities.
Aboki reiterated the government’s advice that people living in lowland areas must relocate to highlands, urging residents to listen to advisories from the government, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
According to him, moving to higher grounds remains the only way to save properties, farmlands and human lives, as flooding has become perennial in those areas.
He advised the displaced persons not to rush returning to their communities, but wait until the waters dry up completely and recede back to the river, noting that more water could still be released from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
The commissioner reiterated the government’s commitment to taking action to prevent outbreak of diseases in the affected areas.
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