No fewer than 25 communities in Edo State, along the bank of the River Niger, have been submerged by flood following the release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
The local government areas affected by the flood are Etsako East, Etsako Central and Esan South East.
Speaking to journalists, Ojimah Christopher, Desk Officer, Esan South East Local Government on Relief Materials and Distribution, said 25 communities had been submerged.
Ojimah, who is also the Local Government Secretary, Emergency Committee, said the internally displaced camp in the local government had already been filled by displaced persons.
According to him, there are some communities, especially Ifeku, that have been completely submerged, with property and livestock swept away.
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A resident of the affected area, John Odaku, said farmlands containing crops such as yam, cassava and groundnut had been submerged by flood while farm produce already harvested were swept away.
He said residents could not take their belongings due to the rising level of the flood which, according to him, was more than last year’s.
“We couldn’t salvage our crops and farm produce and livestock as they were swept away by the ravaging flood,” he lamented.
He called on the state and federal governments to come to their aids, noting that the local government had been shouldering the responsibility.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency has advised the people living flood-prone areas to relocate to IDP camps to avoid casualties.
Speaking on the development, the NEMA Head, Benin Operation Office, Dahiru Yusuf, said the agency had been monitoring the flood situation in collaboration with state and local governments and other stakeholders.
“Three local governments of Esan South East, Etsako East and Etsako Central are affected. Some communities are displaced already,” he added.
He said his team had visited all the flood prone local government areas to assess the level of preparedness, noting that most of the IDP camps in the various LGAs were ready.
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