Six persons have been confirmed dead, 10 persons injured and over 10,000 displaced in a devastating heavy flooding in the Madagali area of Adamawa State.
The Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Kaletapwa Farauta, while on a visit to the scene of the flood, appealed to the federal government to intervene in the disaster situation by providing support to mitigate the hardship experienced by over some 10,264 flood victims in the Madagali Local Government Area of the State.
While commiserating with the flood victims over the weekend, Farauta expressed shock at the scale of destruction of property and farmlands in the area.
Kaletapwa said, “I am appealing to the federal government and humanitarian agencies to support the Madagali flood disaster victims.
“The colossal damage is too much as eleven communities were affected by the flood.”
The Deputy Governor used the occasion to condole with the families of those who lost their lives in the flood disaster, asking them to take solace in the fact of God being always in control of every situation in human lives, assuring that the State government is working hard to come to their aid.
Farauta assured the flood victims that the state government through the Office of State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) has already approved relief materials to the victims.
She said the government would look into the plight of the victims with a view to bringing socour to them.
Meanwhile, the Head of operations, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yola office, Ayuba Ladan has confirmed the death of six persons while 10 others were injured as flood-ravaged six Adamawa communities following a heavy rainfall early this Saturday morning in the Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State
Ladan listed the worst hit areas as Kirchinga, Duhu, Maiwandu, Jahili, Kokohu, Lumadu, Zhau, Palam, Kwambula, Shiware, and Shuwa.
According to the emergency agency, the devastating flood disaster has affected about 10,264 persons with households of (1,711 HH), with the majority currently taking refuge on higher grounds within the LGA.
According to the assessment, the volume of water from heavy downpours in Shuwa overwhelmed the rivers around the Shuwa communities which resulted in severe flooding that affected various communities
Moreso, the water pressure led to the collapse of the Shuwa bridge which led to Gulak, a town in Madagali LGA.
He confirmed that houses, shops, boreholes, and many valuables have been completely submerged in the affected areas.
The local government authority in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross has established abouteight centres to shelter the IDPs.
The centres are Lumadu Primary School, Lumadu Health Care Centre, GSS Shuwa, Central Primary School Shuwa, Christian Sec Sch Shuwa, Divine Mercy School Shuwa, Mayo -wandu, and Lumadu Model Health Care Center for the victims.
Earlier on, the District Head of Duhu, Mustafa Mohammad the Council chairman Simon Musa Shashi had jointly appealed to federal and state governments to come to the aid of the victims to prevent outbreak of any form of disease in the affected areas and environs.
One of the victims, Hauwa Bukar, a mother of nine children said: “Our house has been washed away; it’s only a plot of land that is left. We can not question God for his action.”
The flood disaster in the affected areas, especially Madagali has been worsened by the collapse of the Waga bridge linking Borno and Adamawa state where over 1000 hectares of farmland have been submerged.
