Several parts of Kaduna metropolis were flooded with travellers on the
busy Abuja-Kaduna Highway stranded as the bridge connecting the road was
submerged.
Hundreds of people have been rendered homeless in Kaduna State,
following the destruction of their homes by a heavy downpour which
lasted for about 15 hours.
said.
The rain, which started at about 8p.m. on Tuesday, did not stop until
about 1p.m. yesterday, sweeping
away many homes, while several were
submerged.
Some of the areas affected included Ungwan Boro, ungwan Pama, Narayi, Ungwan
Maigero, Ungwan Romi, Gonin Gora, Tudun Wada, Kigo New Extension,
Nasarawa, Ungwan Rimi, Romi, Kabala Doki and Karatudu.
“We survived by miracle. We were sleeping when the rain was falling,
then after sometime, a part of the room collapsed. I quickly woke my
family up and we ran inside the rain to one of our relation’s place that
was safe,” he said.
However, officials of the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)
could not comment on the incident, saying the agency was still assessing
the disaster.
The spokesman of the agency Abubakar Adamu Zakari, said in a telephone
interview, that he was too busy to give details of the flood, adding
that the disaster displaced a lot of people.
“I am very busy now. So, I am not in a position to give you details of the affected areas, the destructions and the people displaced. We are still assessing the damage, you can call me tomorrow” he said.
Residents in flood-prone areas said they were taken unawares.
Meanwhile, as the rainy season draws to a peak, the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) has requested the state governments and all
other stakeholders to match their commitments with action towards
addressing the challenges of flood, especially now that some communities
are already being devastated by the disaster.
The Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, said the early action
would prevent reoccurrence of the huge losses suffered from the 2012
flood.
He spoke in Abuja, while receiving a delegation from the World Bank that visited the headquarters of the agency.
He spoke in Abuja, while receiving a delegation from the World Bank that visited the headquarters of the agency.
In a statement issued by NEMA's Press Officer, Mr. Manzo Ezekiel, Sidi
said a high power team from he agency had embarked on advocacy visits
to the state governors while official camps were already erected in safe
grounds in identified flood prone-areas to accommodate persons that
would be displaced by the disaster.
He said the camps are provided with basic facilities such as security,
water and sanitation as well as food while it will also prevent the use
of public schools by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The statement said since the release of the 2013 Seasonal Rainfall
Predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), which
indicated the likelihood of flood in some parts of the country, the NEMA
had undertaken a series of activities on awareness creation and also
secured the commitment of the stakeholders towards proactive measures
and building community resilience against the disaster.
"Some of these included early warning alerts, media campaigns, training
of community based organisations and consultative meeting with the
stakeholders, mapping of the communities at risk and evacuation plan
among others,"
Earlier, the leader of the World Bank team, Mr. Raffaelle Cervigni,
said they were at the agency to identify areas where the bank could
support the efforts towards increasing community resilience to disasters
in the country.
So far, there have been reports of flood affecting communities in Bauchi, Plateau, Katsina and Jigawa States among others.
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