How flood wreaks havoc in Adamawa communities

The early morning heavy rain on Thursday, last week, which lasted for three hours, submerged many communities in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
The rain caused culverts to overflow and wreaked havoc  in some communities in Yola North and Yola South local government areas, which include Yolde-Pate, Wuro-Hausa, Shagari and Jambutu.
Houses and streets were submerged, forcing motorists to abandon their cars which floated on the flood water.
The flood, which some have attributed to poor environmental management, disrupted economic and social activities in the town,many streets and houses were affected, forcing many workers, businessmen/women and students to remain at home.
The residents of Yolde-Pate were cut off from other neighbouring communities after a linking bridge was submerged by the flood.
Some of the residents of the affected communities told Daily Trust that they had not witnessed such flood in their areas in many decades.
A resident of Yolde-Pate, AbdulAziz  Yakubu, said, “I have not seen something like this in years, particularly in the month of June as against August known as the peak of rainfall in the state. Our prayer is that, may God intervene and save us from such downpour that is difficult to manage.”
Abari Kiyana, another resident of Jambutu who escaped being drowned in his house after his room was flooded, said he succeeded in swimming out of the house and saw his car and other belongings floating on the water.
He said it appeared water from some of the settlements in the outskirts found its way to the city despite construction of new culvert networks in the metropolis.
He called on the state government to look into the drainage system with a view to identifying how water can be routed to drain away from populated areas to the rivers and wet lands in the bush.
“More drainage systems have been constructed by the present administration, yet we experienced heavy flood, why? Government should address the problem,” he said.
Speaking on the development, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ahmad Sajoh, said he was aware many settlements were affected, adding that the  Deputy Governor, Engineer Martins Babale, who is the chairman of the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) was currently on an assessment tour of the affected areas.
“I am now with the deputy governor who is chairman of ADSEMA with other officials going round to assess the situation for possible steps to be taken,” Sajoh said.
Meanwhile, reports from other parts of the state indicated that at least eight local government areas which include Numan, Demsa, Girei and Lamorde have been affected and properties destroyed.
The state Deputy Governor, Mathins Babale, who visited the submerged communities in Yola North/South in the heart of the state capital, described the incident as devastating and called on the federal government to assist the victims.