Now that the flood is here

Shortly after NIMET prediction was made public, the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency also came up with its 2014 annual flood outlook in which it said that over 102 local government areas would witness high flood while another 219 others would experience low risk flood.
Barely three months after the predictions, have states in northern Nigeria started experiencing flood which sacked scores from their homes and rendered their farmland and produce useless.
Borno State, last week, witnessed a devastating flood that sacked communities and Jigawa State followed with rain destroying homes and resulting in flood which sacked families from their homes.

Jigawa State
Residents of Ringim and Taura local government areas of Jigawa witnessed a torrential rainfall which began middle of the night on Friday and lasted up to the wee hours of Saturday. By the time the rain subsided, over 200 houses in Ringim were destroyed while 50 houses in Taura Local Government also suffered the same faith.
Over 500 people have been displaced as a result of the flooding which followed and some of the affected families now reside in primary schools in Ringim while others have relocated to other communities or moved to stay with family members in other villages.
One of the affected person who spoke to Daily Trust, Abdulrahman Salihu of Nasarawa quarters in Ringim local government said this was the first time he was experiencing flood in the area.
“Last year there was flood of there was Flood in Ringim but it did not enter the town. It was just at the surrounding villages. I think the poor drainage in the newly constructed roads in the town is responsible for the overflow of water into peoples homes which caused the collapse of the buildings”
Another victim, Yusuf Haruna, said “I was fast asleep with when all of a sudden I saw myself floating inside my room. I quickly rushed to my wife room and pull the kids and her to safety adding that they have since relocated to the refugee camp”
Malama Hanatu Ibrahim said they thank Allah that no life was lost. “We thank Allah who spared our lives considering the fact that the rain started midnight. We are appealing to the government to come to our aid. We thank those who have been feeding us since we came to the camp.
The Executive Secretary State Emergency Management Agency(SEMA),Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Waziri told Daily Trust that they have already distributed more than 200 mattresses and blanket to the victims.
“My men have been working round the clock since the flood happened on Saturday. We have gone to the villages to bring some of the victims that are stranded. Over 500 people were affected in Ringim and Taura while over 200 houses were destroyed .In Hadeijia about 239 people were affected while the houses too is over 100. The truth is that the flood equally affected Auyo,Kafin-Hausa and Kaugama local government too”
He said they are collaborating with Ministry of Health to provide drugs and toilets to avoid outbreak of cholera adding that the local government are responsible for the feeding of the displaced persons at the moment.

Kano State
An early morning rainfall last on which lasted for over 12 hours destroyed farmlands as well as houses in Tsakuwa, a community in Dawakin Kudu local government of Kano State.
The rain came after about two weeks of dry spell which affected crops, making them to start drying because of the intense heat from the sun and lack of rainfall.
Residents informed Daily Trust that they have been praying for the rain so that their crops will survive but the rain came with a fury when it fell heavily for hours, turning into a mixed blessing of joy for having the rain at the time it is needed the most while leaving destruction as it ends.
As the rain lasts, a very big stream located on the road to the community from the local government headquarters flooded the road, making it impassable due to the force with which the water flowed.
Areas around the stream where rice and other crops were planted were all covered with the flood water. A farmer who spoke to Daily Trust said his rice farm was flooded, fearing that he might lose all the rice in the farm.
According to some people of the area, the only culvert constructed for the water to pass when the new road to the community was being constructed over two years ago failed to cope with the volume of water that flowed to the stream from various places after the rain.
A resident called Salisu Musa informed Daily Trust that many houses have been destroyed as a result of the heavy rain. He said that the community has never seen heavier rainfall which lasted for so many hours like the one they had on Friday.
He said that as a community whose houses were mostly made of mud, they could not withstand the type of the rain experienced that day.
“We want this rain badly as our crops have started drying which necessitated our prayer for rain, the rain has come but not without a problem,  but, all the same, we thank God for His mercies.”
Members of the community also expressed fears about some damages caused by the rain on the road which may make it to collapse.
When our reporter visited the place, he found hundreds of people watching the flood caused by the rain, while commuters were being guided to wade through the water to the other end where they used to get picked by another vehicle or motorcycle to go to their destinations.
Other people, however, opted to go back and wait until the following day when the water would have subsided.
Many vehicles were also seen pushed through the water with their engines switched off to avoid damages.
Members of the community called on government to help the people affected by the flood.
Findings by our reporter confirmed that many residents were affected in various parts of the community, as many walls have been brought down by the heavy rain while properties and other personal belongings were destroyed.
Further findings indicated that the large open pits located in and around the ancient town which serve as a reservoir for storing the excess water coming from households which for years have helped to reduce incidences of flooding, were equally overwhelmed as most of them were filled and started spilling their contents, leading to fear of diseases.
Some residents informed our reporter that if the same or even half of the quantity of rain that fell on Friday falls again, the community will be devastated and people might die.