Floods Destroys N100 Million Property In Bauchi

From Mohammed Daib, Bauchi
Flash flood caused by the usual heavy downpour in the month of August has destroyed houses and other property estimated at N100 million in three local governments of Bauchi State.
Secretary, humanitarian coordination team of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Abubakar Umar made this known while briefing newsmen in Bauchi on the extent damage by the flood in the state.
He said hundreds of farmlands and houses were destroyed by flood in Misau, Darazo and Tafawa Balewa local government areas of the state.
Abubakar said: “There were reported cases of flood in three local governments of the state. In Misau local government, it was reported that over 80 houses were affected and 197 farmlands were submerged by flood”
“In Darazo local government, over 200 houses were affected and in Tafawa Balewa local government, over seven villages were affected by flood this year.”
He explained that SEMA in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders were working to ensure that relief materials were provided to the affected communities.
The secretary, who said that most of the flood victims were taking refuge in the houses of their relatives, advised residents against building houses on water ways as Bauchi State was among the states predicted to experience flood this year.
In his remarks, the Disaster Management Coordinator of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Yahaya Inuwa Bello, said that the Red Cross in the state has carried out sensitization campaigns through their divisional offices in Itas-Gadau, Zaki and Gamawa local governments as part of efforts to reduce the level of damage caused by flood.
“What we did last month, was to carry out Advocacy and sensitisation campaign to people living in communities along Gongola- Jama’re river basin areas. Through our divisional offices in the communities, people were educated on the danger of staying in flood-prone areas,” he said.