Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkhadir Mohammed, on Wednesday disclosed that no fewer than 25 people have lost their lives, even as 17 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in floods experienced so far in the state this year.
The governor made the disclosure while receiving a delegation of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), led by its Director-General, Air Vice Marshal Muhammad A. Muhammed (rtd), at the Government House in Bauchi.
According to the governor, flood disasters in the state this year led to destruction of 3,500 houses and over 2,190 farmlands worth N950 million.
These, Governor Mohammed, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Baba Tella, said many infrastructures were lost to floods in some local government areas in the state.
While informing that 16 out of the 20 local government areas of Bauchi State experienced flood this year, the governor lamented that floods was a recurring decimal not only in the state but also across the country.
“The issue of flood has been an issue of recurring decimal, not only in the state, but also the whole nation.
“In Bauchi State in particular, out of the 20 local governments, almost 16 local governments have been devastated by flood,” he said.
Governor Mohammed attributed flood in parts of the state to unusual rainfalls experienced so far.
Though he said both NEMA and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) are doing their best, the governor, however, called on the Federal Government to do more in terms of mitigating the effects of flood.
According to Governor Mohammed, there is the urgent need to be proactive whenever annual rainfall prediction is made rather than being reactive when floods occurred.
“I appreciate the role NEMA and SEMA is playing in mitigating the devastating effects of flood in the country, but the Federal Government needs to do more through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to mitigate the effects of flood.
In his earlier remarks, the NEMA DG, Air Vice Marshal Muhammed (rtd), who was represented by the Agency’s Director Liaison Services, Bashir Idris Garga, said that the NEMA delegation was in the state on an advocacy visit.
According to him, the advocacy was imperative in view of the fact that heavy rainfalls, as predicted by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), which will lead to flood are yet to reach their peak this year.
“May I draw the attention of His Excellency to the 2020 seasonal prediction by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, which categorically shows that we are going to have an above normal rainfall this year under review.
“The annual flood outlook informed that 102 local government areas in 28 states fall within the highly probable risk states while 275 local governments in 36 states of the federation including the FCT, fall within the probable moderate risk zones.
“Unfortunately, the predicted rain has started to occur in many parts of the country and Bauchi State is not an exception,” he said.
The NEMA DG, therefore, declared that it is imperative for the state to activate all plans and measures aimed at mitigating negative impacts of floods.
