From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) said seven persons had been killed and about 74,713 people affected by flood across the state.
Dr. Mohamed Sulaiman, executive secretary of the agency, disclosed in Yola, yesterday that 79 villages in 16 local government areas were affected by the disaster.
He said the most hit areas included Demsa, Yola South, Lamurde, Yola North and Girei Local Government Areas of the state.
“The most hit areas include Demsa LGA with a total of 8,332 affected persons in nine communities with one dead, and Lamurde LGA with about 7,725 people affected in eight communities.
“Followed by Yola South, Girei and Yola North local government areas which had about 7,551; 6,351 and 6,235 people affected in 15 communities.
“While Maiha Local Government Area recorded two dead, and Shelleng, Numan, Girei and Madagali each recorded one dead.”
Other local government areas affected included Fufore 4,875 people in 11 communities and Song with 5,359 victims in three communities.
Shelleng, Numan, Mayo-Belwa and Guyuk local government areas recorded 4,424; 3,962; 3,582, and 3,325 victims in 22 communities while Jada and Madagali local government areas recorded 3,232 and 2,785 affected people each in nine communities.
On the number of farmlands affected, he said the agency was yet to accertain the exact figures, because “some areas are completely submerged and very difficult to be reached.”
He however said that several houses, thousands of hectares of farmlands were submerged, while properties including domestic animals worth millions of naira were lost to the flood.
Meanwhile, Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Habib Ahmed, has disclosed that 210 local government areas in 32 states have been grossly affected by flooding including the loss of lives and property.
Ahmed, who did not mention the affected states, stated this at a national consultative workshop convened to discuss about the 2021 flood preparedness, mitigation and response yesterday in Abuja.
He noted that the agency was already monitoring the situation to activate emergency operations centres in the affected areas for search and rescue as well as conduct assessment to support the displaced persons.
“There have been reported cases of flooding in 210 Local Government Areas in 32 States and Federal Capital Territory with attendant loss of lives, livelihoods and properties.
“As part of our collective responsibilities Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) need to always come together with the view to plan for effective response to flood, to save lives, destruction of properties and infrastructures.”
He said the workshop was imperative as one of the expedient steps necessary to collectively prepare for and provide strategies to strengthen flood risk mitigation and effective response among disaster management stakeholders in the country.