Residents of Kaduna State like many others across the country have been lamenting the devastation caused by the flooding that have ravaged their communities, resulting in the loss of lives, property and livelihood by many of the residents.

In Kaduna State, lives have been lost, properties have been destroyed and residents displaced after torrential rainfall wrecked havocs in some parts of the state.

Caught in the flooding web

The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, Assessment Officer Hussaini Abdullahi told New Telegraph that at least eight local government areas have been affected with hundreds of houses washed away.

He disclosed that majority of the flooding in the state were flash flood that affected houses and farm lands. Miffed by the level of devastation, the state government has set up a high powered fact finding mission to go round the state, ascertain the level of damage, take stock and make recommendations on not only how to tackle the prevailing situation, but also how to mitigate future occurrence.

Narrating his ordeal, a resident of one of the areas affected by the flood in Narayan, Pastor Sunday Akpeyabo, lamented that anytime it rains members of the community had to stay awake.

“None of us will be able to sleep because the rain can come in anytime,’’ he disclosed with pain. He said the only way to know what is happening is to keep vigil, because the houses can be submerged and the waters can enter the room anytime.

Akpeyabo called on the government to come to their aid and stop the menace, saying that their lives are in danger.

According to him, “We hope that the government will do something to stop this flood once and for all. Because, whenever rain starts we become scared that our houses may become submerged by flood.

“The worst thing is that when it rains at night, we can’t sleep again, we begin to keep vigil, to prevent being swept away in our sleep.” Another flood victim, Murtala Muhammad of Kindaza road, Kafanchan, said they have become helpless in their own homes because of the flooding.

He said flood has become a yearly occurrence in the area, saying that, they find it difficult to access their homes anytime there is a heavy downpour.

Muhammad who also lamented that, the heap of refuse in the community was causing residents harm, especially children, causing a lot of diseases, because it is always mixed with the flood waters and washed into their homes.

He called on the government to come to their aid by evacuating the refuse, believing that, such will end the recurrence of flood in the community From Zaria in the northern part of the state to Kafanchan in the southern part, the situation is the same as flood continues to ravage residents of the State.

Environmentalist speaks

Meanwhile, speaking on the cause of the yearly disaster and how to curb the menace, Gloria Bulus, National Coordinator, Network of Civil Society in Environment, told New Telegraph that there are solutions to the flooding that is taking place across the country, but added quickly that the issue is lack of coordination and strategy in tackling the menace.

She also alleged that some of the people in the forefront of handling the prevention and actual flood, when it happens lacked the required experience and expertise to change the dynamics in the country.

This is as she also called on the government to liaise with neighbouring countries where dam waters are always released into the country to have an agreement on how such issues should be handled in tackling the effect of their actions.

She said: “Actually there are solutions to problems we have on ground, but there is lack of adequate coordination, strategy and measures to tackle them. We are also not putting enough attention in terms of prevention.

‘‘This has become a yearly occurrence and we should know what we are supposed to do. Like you know the Federal Ministry of Environment had alerted people on the flood, for people in flood prone areas to be evacuated, for drainages to be cleaned and all sorts of preventive measures.

“But even before this there were errors on ground, because there are issues that were not adhered to. People continue to build where they are not supposed to build. Many communities do not have drainages. So flood can also happen.

‘‘The federal government and flood prone communities need to come together and put in place measures. There is need to be an assessment to know the particular cause of the flooding in any particular area, so that you can know what exactly to use in tackling the problem.

That is the only way to know the solutions.” She also lamented the lack of coordination, saying, “There is also need for coordination between NEMA, SEMA to achieve result. Also in some states these agencies are lacking.

‘‘You cannot see them. We also need a contingency plan, which many states don’t have, like in Ka – duna State there is a contingency plan which was developed around 2021, which goes a long way in what to do. So once there is no planning you are likely to face the situation like the one we are facing today.

NEMA’s efforts

“At times NEMA makes seasonal predictions, but the communities are not even aware of those predictions before the flood takes place. Like there was an assessment that was done in 2012, the post disaster needs assessment, which looks at what is needed after the disaster had occurred.

It also predicted that we might have another flood after 10 years. So we have 10 years spread before something big will happen and others might not be serious before that.

Many people don’t know such documents exists, those that know are not using it. “Also some of the agencies are manned by those that do not have the requisite experience and that had created a serious gap in the way we handle the situation.

Our policies are not strong enough to specifically tackle this issues we are dealing with.”

Measures

Before the present devastation, the Kaduna State government has appealed to residents living in floodprone areas to evacuate. The Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Usman Hayatu-Mazadu, while addressing journalists in Kaduna, said the state government had taken measures to mitigate the impact of the flood, including desilting drainages and conducting sensitization campaigns.

Mazadu noted that despite predictions and warnings, some residents refused to relocate, a development that led to the devastation witnessed across the state.

In Kafanchan metropolis and some other villages in Jema’a Local Government Area (LGA) of the State, two children were said to have been swept away and thousands of residents displaced.

The Vice Chairman of Jema’a LGA, Mrs Christy Usman disclosed this when she reviewed the Kaduna State Impact Assessment Committee on Flood on tour of affected communities in Southern Kaduna She said the flood incidents which occurred in parts of Kafanchan Municipal City, Jagindi, Atuku, Aso and Bade wards also washed away farmlands destroying crops worth millions of naira.

In Zaria and Sabon Gari Local Government Areas the situation was not any different, even though no life lost was reported, over 200 houses in Zaria and Sabon-Gari were destroyed by the rampaging flood waters.

The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said the situation would have been avoided if the people have listen to government advice.

This was as he said the cooperation of residents was crucial in ensuring their safety, urging residents, particularly farmers, to take advantage of alternative land provided by the state government for farming and to relocate to urban centres.

He said: “Our assessment identified three key issues: inadequate drainages, dumping of refuse, and structures erected within waterways. We presented our findings to the governor, who directed the stakeholders to embark on a statewide desilting of old drainages.

“I am pleased to report that this exercise has been completed, which helped minimize the impact of the flood in other predicted areas. However, despite our efforts, some residents refused to evacuate, leading to the destruction of properties.”

Mazadu added, “We have already for weeks, had interactions with some radio stations over 15 times, but why are we having these challenges? The problem is that we are yet to understand the essence and purpose of our lives.

“I keep saying, and I told the stakeholders, and I equally told the people within these flood-prone areas, that the issue of security and safety is not just about the governor; it’s not just because we have a governor that is fair hearing, we equally need to understand the fact that we need to safeguard our lives and property.

“Why must we risk our lives to the detriment of going to farm or living where you think it is your right? I think this is why we are here. Let’s communicate to our brothers and sisters on the negative effect and dangers of living in flood-prone areas.”

On his part, the Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Sani Kila, who has led some government officials on tour of areas of the state affected by the flood, has promised to present their findings to the state Governor Uba Sani.

He assured that the State government will do the needful to implement immediate and longterm solutions to the flooding.

Appeal to residents

He, however, stressed that the residents also have a role to play in stopping the flooding by not building on waterways and dumping refuse aside streams and channels.

This is as he disclosed, “Investigation has revealed that many of the houses were built without permission from the relevant agencies and this is illegal.

“If we are to continue with measures to curtail flooding in our community, some structures will have to go because they are illegal and obstructing the flow of water, which is one of the factors responsible for flooding.”