Kaduna’s flood of tears

Flood has become a recurring decimal in Kaduna State during rainy season, especially along waterways but the latest occurrence that ravaged parts of the state on Monday left many in shock as some areas experienced the disaster for the first time. A downpour that started on Saturday and lasted till the early hours of Monday […]

Flood has become a recurring decimal in Kaduna State during rainy season, especially along waterways but the latest occurrence that ravaged parts of the state on Monday left many in shock as some areas experienced the disaster for the first time.
A downpour that started on Saturday and lasted till the early hours of Monday was said to have triggered the flood which some residents described as the worst in the state in recent times. The flood which started in the middle of the night threw residents into confusion as they scampered for safety. While some were able to evacuate few of their belongings before they were totally submerged, many could not salvage anything as they were caught unawares by the disaster.
Our reporters gathered that over 3,000 families and 30,000 people were displaced by the flood, which affected 10 local government areas of the state. Although, the water level has gone down in some areas days after the disaster, victims are still counting their losses saying they had never had it bad this way.
The affected victims will not forget their bitter experiences in a hurry as thousands of houses, farmlands, cars and valuable property worth a fortune were destroyed by the flood.
Through-out Monday and in the early hours of Tuesday, the rail track on the River Kaduna Bridge was still submerged just as the farms along the river bank.
Houses, shops and even schools along water ways, including Kigo extension, Romi, Rafinguza, Down-quarters, legislative quarters in Ungwar Dosa, Barnawa, Kudenda, Kinkinau at Ungwar Muazu, Ungwar Rimi and shooting range in Kabala among others were most hit by the flood.
Unconfirmed reports said one person died as a result of the flood in Lere local government area but the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Agency (SEMA), Ezekiel Baba-Karik, said that no death was recorded.
Two days after the flood, the affected people were seen returning to their homes to see if they could recover any valuable materials and to wash away the mess caused by the flood. Some pick-ups vans were also seen transporting household property out of the flooded areas.
Mr. Emmanuel Eze, a resident of Kigo Extension, who was in tears, said he came back from a burial ceremony in his village only to find his house submerged by the flood.
“I saw all my belongings, including electronics, furniture, clothes, refrigerators and everything in the house covered by water; we have not been able to go back to the house because almost everything was destroyed. My wife and children are squatting somewhere with a good Samaritan,” Eze told Daily Trust.
His wife, Mrs. Eze, said this was the first time they had experienced such magnitude of flooding in the area since 2009 when started living in the area.
“The water that entered inside my parlour reached my shoulder level. Although, I heard of the warning that those living close to the river should vacate for fear of flood but I thought that even if there was going to be flood, it would be as we used to see it on other streets but won’t reach our side. It is unfortunate that my first experience of flood is so bitter as I lost almost everything I have,” she said, sobbing.
Mrs. Eze said they would continue to squat with friends and relatives until the situation was brought under control before they can start thinking of getting apartment.
Elizabeth Bitrus, who was also affected by the flood, expressed shock that though she lives at Kigo Extension, a flood-prone area, she had never experienced flooding in her house for the more than three years that she has been living there.
“The flood came at mid-night while we were sleeping and we only woke up to see ourselves floating on water. We quickly jumped out of bed to raise some few valuables up, thinking the water will not exceed that level while we ran for safety. By the time we came back, everything was already covered with water while we discovered that thieves had seized opportunity of the flood to cart away people’s belongings and money,” she lamented.
Bitrus said she was not aware of the warning to people flood prone areas to relocate to higher grounds and expressed concern over how to source for funds to pay for another apartment. “My husband is a pensioner while I am a housewife, so I appeal to government to please assist us so that we can relocate to another place and start a new live. Some of us lost property that cannot be recovered even in the next 10 years,” she narrated.
Becky Peters, who operates a saloon, said her house and shop were damaged by the flood, adding that though this was not her first experience flooding in the Kigo Extension it was never severe as the last one. She stated she has now made up her mind to vacate the area for a place that is not prone to flood.
“I lost almost everything I have, including my credentials and land documents. Though we were warned but we were not told the time the flood will come, so it caught us unawares because we felt it will be like the normal mild flood we have been experiencing in the past,” she explained.
Narrating his ordeal, Malam Usman Danborno, whose house is located along Isa Kaita Road between Ungwar Rimi and Malali, also said he had never experienced such a devastating flood in the past 15 years that he has lived in the area.
“It started at about 3 am on Monday, my mattress got soaked in water on waking up, I then realised that I was lying on water. We became completely soaked in water within the twinkle of an eye, so we quickly found a way to run out of the house. The whole place was filled up with water, so much that you couldn’t see the tip of your hand even when you raised it up. Though, this is not the first time Kaduna is experiencing flood this year’s own is exceptional. We never expected it to happen this way. You can imagine, tomorrow (Thursday) is Sallah and I don’t even have a house to stay in talk less of celebrating,” Danborno narrated ruefully.
“I have 21 children with four other orphans living with me and we are all squatting in an uncompleted building until we are able to gain access to our house. We are in a state of devastation because we could not come out with anything, so, we need assistance. I think the cause of the flood was water released from Dadinkowa dam, and we also learnt that Taraba and Adamawa states have equally released their dams,” he added.
“The DG of NEMA has announced that people living in flood prone areas should vacate such places but there is no where we can go to because someone who is struggling to feed his stomach will find it difficult to rent another apartment. The flood affected over 20 houses in this area and we are praying to God that he will put a stop to such occurrence,” he said hopefully.
A teacher with one of the flooded schools along Degel 2 in Ungwar Rimi said that the flood made the school management to ask both staff and students to stay at home for one week until the situation was brought under control.
Majority of those affected by the flood at shooting range in Kabala and Down-quarters, a suburb of Kaduna South local government area, have vacated their homes that have been submerged.
“Usually every year, during rainy season, water comes into the compound but it never entered the house in my 12 years of living here. Before we knew what was happening, the entire house was flooded,” Mrs. Otegbola
Asked if she has received any assistance from the government, she said they were asked to write down their names which she said her husband did but that they are yet to receive anything.
While some of the affected people are still in a dilemma, the Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, has warned of more severe flooding that may submerge many communities across Nigeria in the weeks ahead.
He said Nigerians should expect more flooding when Cameroon releases water from its dams and warned that structures built along river banks must be vacated in order to save lives. “What happened in Kaduna should be expected in many parts of Nigeria, so Nigerians should be wary of flood-prone areas because the flood we are experiencing has no sign of subsiding,” Sidi said.
The Executive Secretary of SEMA, Ezekiel Baba-Karik confirmed that 10 local government areas of the state – Ikara, Kubau, Lere, Soba, Kauru, Igabi, Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Chikun and Zaria – were affected by the flood. He also clarified that there has been no report of death caused by the flood.
Baba-Karik said six camps have been established in the state metropolis for the displaced families; disclosing that NEMA has distributed relief materials to the affected people while the state government provided logistics.
“Red Cross is taking inventory of the affected people while we are compiling reports from various LGs so as to know how to reach out to the victims but the problem we have is that some of the victims have refused to go to the established camps, maybe they are ashamed and they have decided to stay with their friends or relations,” he stated.
“The water level has gone down to the barest minimum but we still warn that people should stay away from structures built along water ways or river banks,” the SEMA boss started. “About two months ago, following prediction of relevant agencies, we warned residents along water ways to vacate such areas but they refused, this time around, we appeal to them not to take such warning for granted.”