The Gombe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) reported that floods have either completely or partially destroyed 2,517 houses and shops across 33 communities in the state.
Mr. Ibrahim Nalado, the Deputy Director of Relief and Rehabilitation at the agency, revealed this information during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Gombe.
Nalado stated that the affected communities are located in Dukku, Funakaye, and Billiri Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state. He explained that these areas experienced flooding due to heavy rainfall between August 12 and August 22.
He said, “In Dukku LGA, 10 communities were affected. In Funakaye LGA, 20 communities were affected and in Billiri LGA, three communities were affected.”
Nalado reported that the flooding and windstorm primarily affected houses and a few farmlands in the communities. He noted that while there was no loss of life, two children were injured in Dukku, and seven animals were washed away.
Regarding the impact on farmlands, he mentioned that the Hina community in Yamaltu/Deba LGA was the worst-hit, with no less than 1,000 hectares of rice, maize, sorghum, and millet farmlands submerged in water.
Nalado explained that his team visited the Hina community on Friday, August 30, to assess the extent of the damage.
He described the impact of the flooding as “huge and devastating,” given the vast area affected, noting that farmers were preparing to harvest their crops but accepted the situation as a natural phenomenon.
He added that data on the number of farmers affected by the flood were still being collated in Hina. Nalado stated that his agency had assessed the damage and was compiling reports to submit to the state government and other relevant agencies. He emphasized that addressing the level of damage at Hina would require collective efforts from both the state and Federal Government.
He also appealed to the North East Development Commission and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for support and urged the affected farmers and residents to remain patient, assuring them that the government and other agencies would provide assistance.
In the past few weeks, many parts of the country, especially the northern states, have seen flash floods destroying communities, farmlands and even loss of lives.
The Minister of state for agriculture had earlier stated that the current flood disaster would affect food harvest significantly as up to 51% of farmlands in the country are at risk of being affected. The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun has already announced a N3 billion assistance to states affected by the disaster.
