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The death toll from flooding in the country has increased to 195, the National Emergency Management Agency said on Friday.
The agency’s spokesperson, Manzo Ezekiel, warned residents by the River Benue to relocate, saying its water level was rising.
On the number of casualties from flooding in 2024, he said, “As of yesterday (Thursday), the number increased to about 195. All the numbers (persons displaced, houses affected, persons affected) have increased because our emergency operation centre works 24 hours.
“We’re in touch with our field officers, getting information about what is happening, and because the flooding is something that is still ongoing; the number has changed, the number of dead has risen.”
Saturday PUNCH gathered that state governments, in partnership with NEMA, commenced moves to evacuate residents in flood-prone areas to avert further disaster as heavy rainfall continued to pour.
Ezekiel further revealed that River Benue had reached the yellow point (warning point) and was rising.
He said, “It has not reached the red level yet, but it’s at the point of warning that the water level is rising. People should prepare. I’m talking about the River Benue.
“So, the other thing is that if the water level is getting to the red point, we know that there’s a danger.”
The spokesperson noted that it was already the time of the year when water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon would be released. He insisted that the government had not been notified of the exact time it would happen.
“Even if such information has come, at least, I’m not aware of it yet, but normally it is around this time of the year that the issue of the release of water from Lagdo Dam used to come up,” he stated.
According to him, if there’s a release of water from the dam, the state at risk of being affected most is Adamawa because it serves as the entry point of River Benue.
Other states at risk are Taraba, Benue, some parts of Nasarawa, Benue State, and Kogi State, where the dam meets with the water coming down from River Niger and flows downwards to some parts of Anambra, Enugu, Edo, and Delta states.
“But the flooding that has been recorded in Nigeria is from the amount of rainfall that has been recorded internally in the country, so the rainfalls and the tributaries of these two major rivers (Niger and Benue) are the ones that have been responsible for most of the flooding in Nigeria so far,” he said.
He highlighted that it is the primary responsibility of state governments to evacuate residents during flooding.
Seven missing in Niger flood
In Niger State, seven persons were declared missing in a flooding incident that happened in the early hours of Friday in two local government areas of the state.
The flooding, caused by torrential rainfall in Sabon Pegi (Mashegu LGA) and Nassarawa (Magama LG) lasted from 2am to 12 noon, affecting over 89 houses and three vehicles and destroying hundreds of hectares of farmland.
The Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arab, who confirmed the incident on Friday, said search and rescue operations were ongoing.
In a statement by the spokesman for the agency, Hussaine Ibrahim, the director general said, “As of the time of filing this report, seven people have been declared missing, over 89 houses were affected, hundreds of hectares of farmlands, and three vehicles were washed away.”
‘We sleep with one eye open’
Meanwhile, fear has enveloped residents of Benue State as the Cameroonian government is expected to release water from the Lagdo Dam in the next few weeks.
Some residents, particularly those living close to the bank of the River Benue, expressed deep concern on Friday when one of our correspondents visited the area.
An official of the state Emergency Management Agency had earlier told our correspondent that the agency, in collaboration with NEMA, had begun to sensitise people living around flood-prone areas to relocate.
However, some of the residents living around Rice Mill, Wadatta, and New Garage prayed that the state would not experience a repeat of the 2012 flooding, where flood washed away homes and destroyed properties.
The Chairman of Agatu LGA, Philip Ebenyakwu, stated that residents of the council area now slept with one eye open
Adamawa residents warned
Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Government has directed residents living along river banks and other waterways to relocate to higher ground.
The government predicts that the Cameroon Republic will open the Lagdo dam next month to release water pressure as it does every year.
In 2011, when the Lagdo Dam was opened after several notifications from Cameroon, no fewer than 100 deaths were recorded and over 200,000 people were heavily affected by the massive flood.
While addressing victims of the Madagali flood this week, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, whose village Kirchinga was also hit by the flood, advised residents to relocate to higher ground, pointing out that the worst had yet to come.
According to him, when the Lagdo Dam water is released, the flood situation will worsen due to climate change and other human activities, including the random cutting down of trees.
More local governments have started experiencing massive flooding after the deadly Madagali Local Government flood in northern Adamawa State claimed 11 lives.
The manager of Ryak Hotel, Mr Isaiah Kamshio, told our correspondent that his hotel was taken over by water on Friday.
“The 25 rooms, fully furnished with all the electronics, have been destroyed by the flood. We have been experiencing floods, but this year’s flood is the father of all,” he said.
He noted that he lost over N250m in property due to the flood.
Anambra plans IDP camps
Ahead of the impending flooding from the release of the Lagdo Dam, the Anambra State government says it will open no fewer than 27 camps to accommodate persons who might be displaced by the flood.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH on the telephone on Friday, the spokesman for SEMA, Hilary Ogana, said a total of 27 Internally Displaced Persons camps, known as holding camps, would be activated ahead of this year’s flood disaster in the state.
He said, “The camps would be opened for the displaced people to stay in pending when the flood subsides, and they can return to their homes.”
