Over 10,000 people displaced in Kogi, Benue flood-NEMA

The National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA) has deployed relief
materials to the camps where over 10,000
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from
Kogi and Benue states are taking refuge
after they were sacked from their homes
with the ravaging flood across north
central region of Nigeria.
A technical team from the agency visited areas
devastated by the floods along the banks of
Rivers Benue and Niger and their tributaries in
states over the weekend to assess the damage
and identify suitable intervention required to
address the problem.
According to the team, most of the affected
areas remained flooded with most of the
displaced persons resorting to taking shelter in
four camps.
The flood in Benue state is said to affect the
communities in Makurdi, the state capital, along
the river belt, while about nine local government
areas were affected in Kogi State, with Ibaji
Local Government Area almost submerged.
Other local government areas affected as Bassa,
Ofu, Kogi, Omala, Ajaokuta, Ankpa, Igalamela
and Lokoja, where property, including hotels,
residential buildings, offices and fishing
communities along the confluence of Rivers
Benue and Niger have all been submerged.
NEMA’s Director of Planning, Research and
Forecasting, Charles Agbo, during a meeting
with Kogi State governor, Wada Idris, warned of
prolonged flooding as more water would still be
released from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon and
Kainji Dam with the intensifying rains.
He also urged the state government to enforce
the standard regulation on urban planning and
development as well as permanently relocate
communities in the flood plains to safer
locations.
“Even after the flood, most of the submerged
houses may become too weak and no longer be
safe for habitation, in addition to the potential
health hazards from the disaster,” he warned.
“Therefore, the states governments must to rise
up to their responsibilities to the affected
communities as the Federal Government,
through NEMA, would provide necessary support
the displaced persons.”
The governor expressed concern of the Federal
Government towards the flood situation and
requested support to reinforce the efforts by the
state government to assist the displaced
persons, while urging NEMA and other relevant
organizations to identify measures to mitigate
future occurrence of the flood.