Flood ravages Benue community, dozens of households affected

The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has said that no fewer than 100 households were affected by flood in Makurdi, the state capital, following recent rainfalls.

Dr. Emmanuel Shior, the Executive Secretary of the Agency disclosed this on Monday in Makurdi.

He said that the agency had over time, advised people residing on floodplains to relocate in order to avert disaster.

Floods had become a yearly routine in Makurdi in the last decade, destroying property worth millions and loss of lives in some cases.

The affected areas were among the worst hit in the 2017 flood that displaced over 120,000 persons in Makurdi.

Shior said the areas mostly affected in the current incident were Achussah, Mobile Barracks Road, Welfare Quarters Extension, Kucha, Utembe, Idye, Agber Village, and Judges Quarters amongst others.

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He said the agency had set aside relief materials for the victims and extended some of the existing camps to accommodate them.

The executive secretary said that the agency had also activated its contingency plan aimed at taking care of the flood victims in the State.

He said they had met with all stakeholders in the environment sector and mapped out ways of assisting the victims after visiting the sites.

According to him, the agency has advised all Makurdi residents to clear all water channels within their area for free flow of water.

“We are doing everything to support the victims. So far, we have captured over 100 households within Makurdi that were submerged by the heavy rainfalls,” he said.

In 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated a 3.35-kilometre Idye Basin drainage channel to address the ecological challenges facing Makurdi.