Paul Orude, Bauchi
Three persons are feared dead in flooding that occurred at Adamami village in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi State following a downpour that lasted for almost 14 hours between Sunday evening and Monday.
The flood destroyed no fewer than 200 houses and washed away about 3,000 hectares of farmland, completely submerging the whole village, leaving villagers stranded, our correspondent learnt.
Some residents who shared horrible experiences of the incident said they could not sleep all through the night before eventually being sacked from their abodes by the flood
They informed journalists that the men in the village spent several hours rescuing women, children and those trapped in collapsed houses in the village as emergency rescue from authorities was elusive.
A resident, Aminu Bala, explained to journalists on Tuesday by telephone that the flood destroyed almost 85 per cent of houses in the village, most of which were mud.
He added that many farmlands belonging to the villages were washed away.
‘No fewer than 3,000 hectares of farmlands were washed away with the crops on them. Our major occupation here is farming and unfortunately, we have lost most of our farmlands to this flood,’Bala stated.
He expressed concerned over what he characterised as the State Government’s nonchalant attitude to the plights of people in Adamami and surrounding communities.
He recalled that they have been experiencing flooding in the area for almost two weeks before the latest calamity and called on the State Government to come to their aid in order to alleviate their plights.
‘All we are appealing for is to have a heavy duty machine like an excavator to come and dig a way for the water to go through.
‘Unfortunately, all the appeals lodged to the appropriate authorities have not been treated and all our cries are to no avail,’ he said.
He further appealed to Nigerians to keep the villagers in prayers for divine interventions, adding that kindhearted people should come forward to assist them in whatever ways they can to put an end to the sufferings.
‘We are appealing to the general public and well-meaning Nigerians to put our people in prayers and support them in anyway they can because we need such now than ever before,’ he pleaded.