19 August 2008
Lagos — No fewer than 150 houses have been submerged by flood in Bela village, Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that farm produce estimated at millions of naira were lost in the disaster.
A NAN correspondent who visited the village yesterday reports that though there were no loss of lives, several domestic animals, stored food items and household materials were washed away by the flood.
The flooding was the outcome of four days of torrential rain in the village. When NAN visited the village, it was observed that most of those affected were busy erecting temporary shelters.
There was scarcity of safe drinking water in the village as all the wells were submerged, a situation that may lead to the outbreak of water-borne diseases if urgent measures were not taken by the authorities.
NAN also reports that several villages located on the fringes of the Shagari Earth Dam were in danger of being swept off by flood. The dams included Gidan-Hussaini, Gidan-Magana, Illelar-Dabore, Kaurar-Mafara, Ruggar-Buda, Rinaye, Doruwa and Mazoji.
Reacting to the incident, one of the victims, Malam Sama'ila Bela said: "I have lost my house, my farm and other belongings, and I have left everything in the hands of God."
Another victim, Alhaji Musa Salisu, appealed to the three tiers of government to come to their aid by assisting them to rebuild their houses.
The chairman of Shagari Local Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Danjeka told NAN that both the state and local governments were doing their best to avert further flood in the area.
"The incident is a source of concern to all of us. We, however, submit that it is an act of God," he said.
Danjeka told NAN that the council had provided over 3,000 plots of land for the relocation of some of the residents of the flood-prone areas.
"We have relocated the victims in Gangam to new Gangam while those in Lambara had since been allocated with their plots.
"We will also provide them with the necessary social infrastructure" Danjeka, pledged. adding that the Federal Government would compensate them for the losses suffered.
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