Mokwa disaster: Niger Govt urges communities in flood-prone areas to vacate
The Niger State government has warned over 2,000 communities across 15 local government areas of the state living along riversides to heed the federal government’s flood warning to avoid possible disaster.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, in its weather forecast, had earlier stated that widespread thunderstorms and rainfall across the country will affect many communities, and that 15 states will witness flooding this month.
Also on Wednesday, the federal government forecast potential flooding in 38 locations across these states, in a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Environment through the National Flood Early Warning Centre under the Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department.
Against this background, the Niger State government, in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication, Media and Strategy, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa, in Minna on Friday, strongly advised communities living around riversides to immediately relocate to higher ground to forestall possible disaster.
Vatsa emphasized that the government cannot afford to witness another catastrophic situation like the recent Mokwa flood disaster, which claimed over 200 lives and destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
“Niger State is one of the most flood-prone states in the country, with no year passing without one form of flood disaster or the other with attendant loss of lives. We have over 2,000 communities across 15 local government areas of the state living by the riverside,” he disclosed.
“We need to be proactive in order to avoid the Mokwa experience, and that is why the state government is urging people living by the riverside to immediately begin to relocate to a safer place. The warning by NiMet should not be taken for granted,” the governor’s aide warned.
“The state government will soon embark on a statewide awareness and sensitization campaign, especially targeting communities that are prone to flood, on the need for them to detach themselves from their ancestral homes as the rain approaches. They can go back after the rainy season,” he added.
The statement further stated that NiMet in its weather outlook predicted that heavier rainfall and storms may affect Borno, Zamfara, Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Kwara, Plateau, Kogi, Benue, and Nasarawa states.
Other parts of the country expected to be affected by the prediction, include Adamawa [Mubi]; Akwa Ibom [Edor, Upenekang, Oron, Eket]; Borno [Ngala, Maiduguri]; Bauchi [Azare, Bauchi, Itas, Jama’are, Kafin-Madaki, Jama’a, Kari, Misau]; and Plateau [Jos, Bukuru, Mangu].
Also Yobe [Jakusko, Machina, Dapchi]; Katsina [Daura]; Kano [Kunchi, Kano, Gezawa, Wudil, Bebeji, Sumaila, Tudun Wada]; and Jigawa [Miga, Gwaram, Diginsa, Ringim, Dutse] were listed, including, Cross River [Calabar, Akpap] and Zamfara [Bungudu, Gusau.
Mokwa disaster: Niger Govt urges communities in flood-prone areas to vacate
