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Bello Alhassan
DAILY COURIER - The death toll from the recent flood in Jigawa State has risen to 33, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has said.
Releasing the figure on Saturday, Abubakar, a former governor of Jigawa State, commiserated with the state government over the disaster as well as families who have lost their loved ones to the flood.
He said the disaster affected 148 communities in 14 local government areas, about 50,000 people and over 11,500 households.
“Over 148 communities were affected,” he said. “7,500 households were affected, over 50, 000 people were affected and about 11,500 farmlands were also affected while we lost 33 indigenes of the state as a result of this affliction,” he said while visiting Governor Umar Namadi in Dutse, the state capital.
Governor Umar Namadi thanked the minister for the visit saying “I am sure so many people in Abuja are also sympathising with you. This situation is for all of us,” the governor said.
“You still decided to be here physically”
The state government is also expecting some relief materials from the Federal Government as it battles the flood occasioned by the rainfall in the coming days.
Worst Deluge
Jigawa, similarly to other states in the agrarian region, records flooding every year but this has been the worst deluge it has experienced, according to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
“Cumulatively, we have recorded 50 deaths from flooding across the 27 local governments in the state,” Yusuf Sani, head of Jigawa’s SEMA said on Monday.
“The last few days have been quite challenging as rain fell for three days non-stop,” Sani added.
Emergency workers had been sent to affected communities to count the displaced but he estimated they were in the “thousands”, he added.
Kafin Hausa district has been the worst hit, with 10 people killed, 68 hospitalised and 1,436 displaced — most of them from Balangu village where 237 houses were destroyed,
He also said that 11 temporary shelters for the displaced had been opened, including in schools that are closed for the holiday.
Aminu Ibrahim who lost his home to floods in Kirikasamma district now lives with relatives in a primary school along with 12 other displaced families.
Emergency officials in the state are concerned that the situation could get worse as more torrential rains are expected in the coming days.
There are also concerns about the imminent release of water from the Komadugu River, a measure taken by the authorities to prevent the banks from bursting.
“We have asked all residents of villages along the river banks to evacuate as soon as possible because the water would be released any moment from now,” said Sani.
In addition, the overflowing of the Tiga and Challawa rivers in Kano state into Jigawa state every year “substantially aggravates flooding” in the state, said local official Hamza Muhammad.
The unusually heavy rains, “which can be attributed to climate change”, had made things worse, he added.
Other factors include insufficient drainage, the clogging of river canals by weeds, and illegal constructions on the waterways, he added.
In 2020 at least 40 people were killed and more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of crops were destroyed by floods in the state, according to SEMA.
In the latest incident, on August 4, flooding after two days of heavy downpours killed three people and displaced almost 500 in Ajingi district, said Jalli.
