19 people dead in Taraba floods

The floods also destroyed no fewer than 10,000 houses while an expert warns of impending doom in South

Novalga Danhabu, Executive Secretary, Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Sunday noted that 19 people has been confirmed died in the flooding that ravaged some areas of the state in the month of September.

Danhabu stated this in Jalingo and added that the deaths were recorded in eight local government areas.

He said the local governments were: Ardo Kola, Gassol, Kurmi, Ibi, Karimlamido, Lau, Wukari and Sardauna.

The executive secretary said that over 80,000 farmlands were destroyed while over 28,000 people were either internally displaced or missing in the disaster.

Danhabu said the flood also destroyed no fewer than 10,000 houses and 3,000 livestock in the affected areas.

He said that other infrastructure like markets, culverts, bridges, schools, churches, mosques as well as clinics were washed away.

The executive secretary warned the public, especially those living near river banks to vacate to higher grounds to avoid further destruction as weather experts had predicted more rainfall.

Floods may wipe out South-West, South-South

Meanwhile, an expert in flood management and control, Dr. Akingbola Omigbodun has warned of the possibility of floods wiping out Abeokuta and parts of Lagos State, both in the South West geo-political zone, and a substantial part of the South South Zone.

According to Omigbodun, the chance of this disastrous development may occur in the event that there is a collapse of the Oyan Dam, which is north of Abeokuta; just as the subsisting process of releasing water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, if sustained, would only continue to worsen the already terrible flooding conditions in the S/South zone.

Omigbodun, stated this in a letter addressed to the Ministries of Environment, Water Resources as well as to the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, painted a frightening picture of what could happen in the event that the Oyan Dam collapses because of the huge volume of water it continues to hold:

"The dam is north of Abeokuta. Just imagine water that has been trapped, about 10 stories high, breaking a barrier and flowing downwards to Abeokuta. You asked what would happen!

"What you would have would be a major disaster Just imagine water 10 stories high rushing downwards. It would wipe out everything on its path. That is what would happen should the Oyan Dam collapse and with the way water is being held back by the authorities of the Ogun/Osun River Basin Development Authority, anything can happen", he warned.

The flood management and control expert pointed out that some of the major reasons dams are built are not being addressed by those who should manage the dams.

According to Omigbodun, dams are built for purposes of irrigation and power generation, but these dams are not being used for these purposes and the way water is released 'wholesale' makes the ordinarily bad flooding situation worse for Nigerians.

He described a similar scenario happening in the north eastern flank of the country where, he said, waters from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon contribute dangerously to the downward river force of the River Benue.

"The waters from the Upper Volta into the River Niger and the waters from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon which rush into the River Benue, with the confluence at Lokoja, all come downwards to the Niger Delta and the states of the S/South zone. Yes the situation in that zone is very terrible but it would get worse because the force of the water is still moving downwards".