Tales of death, destruction flood Bauchi, Adamawa

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s annual prediction and warning of the possibility of heavy down pour, with each rainy season approaching, has become a routine.  Unlike the previous year’s though, residents of Kari in Darazo local government area of Bauchi State heed the agency’s clarion calls and went to work by constructing makeshift local […]

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s annual prediction and warning of the possibility of heavy down pour, with each rainy season approaching, has become a routine.  Unlike the previous year’s though, residents of Kari in Darazo local government area of Bauchi State heed the agency’s clarion calls and went to work by constructing makeshift local drainages for easy passage of water. However, by the time the rain eventually came in torrents, it did not only wash away the drainages but with it their lifetime toil.

 

The six hours rain left behind tales of death and destruction.  “The havoc wrecked by the heavy pour was monumental,” Alhaji Adamu Abubakar, Secretary of the Nigerian Red Cross Society confirmed to the Weekly Trust in an interview.

By the time the rain eased, four people, including a mother and her three-year-old child were dead, while rendering over 1800 homeless in communities across three local government areas of Kirfi, Warji and Darazo local government areas. The rampaging flood occasioned by the torrential rain was said to have washed away over 500 houses in the three local government areas.

The breakdown, according to the Red Cross Society indicates that the flood destroyed over 50 Houses in Warji, more than 50 also in Kirfi and over 400 in villages in Darazo Local Government area alone. The villages affected included Kari, Zandan, and Gandun  in Darazo Local government areas and Kirfin Sama and Kirfin Kasa.

The village Head of Kari, Alhaji Idris Adamu said one person lost his life while two others were injured when their building caved in on them. Alhaji Idris said several livestock also died in the six hours rain.  “The flood usually flows from the bush. This was the third time we are experiencing the flood but this one destroyed many houses and rendered so many families homeless,” he lamented.

The Secretary of the Nigerian Red Cross Society said the survivors in Kari were temporarily camped at the Primary School in the area and some have since joined relatives in neighbouring communities. He said about 150 mud houses and hundreds of livestock and ten cars were washed away by the floods.

Narrating their ordeals separately, most of the victims told Weekly Trust that so far, some of them have rented houses, some live with their relatives in towns while others rely on the gestures from good Samaritans before they could get the chance of rebuilding their houses.

Bauchi State Governor, Malam Isa Yuguda, had delegated the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Alhaji Bappah Azare on inspection visit to the affected villages and to commiserate with the victims. Azare said the state government had directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and State Development Board (SDB) to provide immediate assistance to the victims. Permanent Secretary of SEMA, Alhaji Mahmud Garba told newsmen that the state government had distributed blankets, mats, food items, clothes, cups, towels, vegetable oil, sanitary pads, toilet soaps and detergent to them.

Like in Bauchi no fewer than five people were killed, while hundreds were rendered homeless following torrential rains in Numan local Government Area of Adamawa State last Tuesday.

Residents say the rain started about 2 in the morning hours; lasted for well over three hours causing many houses to collapse.

Rescuers said that five persons, including children got drowned during the torrential rains.

Our Correspondent   who went round the town reports that the areas most affected by the flood include Green Village, Kasuwar Kan Kwana, Sabon Pegi, Bayan Rest-House and Anguwar Fare among others.

Major streets in Numan town were submerged. Most parts of the town were literally inaccessible by either vehicles or human beings for hours. Shops, warehouses and homes were totally overtaken by flood in most parts of the city. After the rain, many residents spent the rest of the day bailing out water from their flooded homes and shops.

The common fear is that the situation could get worse as the rain gets heavier. Residents are urging for urgent measures to tackle the problem.

The Sarkin Kasuwa of the area,  Alh. Garba Suleiman, appealed to the government to come to their plight as hundreds were rendered homeless.

“The state government should not allow this situation to continue. Year in year out, we face this same problem in Numan,” he lamented.

“The government should construct big drainages in places like Green Village down to Sabon -Pegi Road. I think they should also do something quick in these other areas like Market Junction,” said Malam Musa Na Iraki, a resident.

The acting chairman of Numan local government area, Alh. Muhammad S. Baba, who could not confirm the casualty figure however said some people lost their lives while several livestock were killed by the rampaging flood. He said properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed especially around Sabon Pegi  axis of Sabon –Pegi  that long before the heavy rains set in, had literally been swallowing vehicles including commercial motorcycles.

He urged the people to desist from blocking water ways through indiscriminate dumping of refuse. He assured that the government would look into the problem and address the situation.

The story is not different at the Tashan-Dong down to Gweda Mallan on the same Jalingo road despite recent efforts at rehabilitation of that portion of the road.

However, government officials insist that the flood would have been less problematic if residents were not involved in the ugly habit of dumping refuse in available drainages, most of which are not wide enough.