NAN – No fewer than 15, 000 families have been rendered homeless by floods in six Local Government Areas of Taraba, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has said.
The Permanent Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Nuvalga Danhubu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo on Thursday.
Danhubu said that the flood was as a result of heavy downpours and water released from Lagdo Dam in the neighbouring Cameroon Republic into River Benue.
He explained that apart from residential buildings, several farmlands were also destroyed by the flood in Karim-Lamido, Gassol, Lau, Ibbi, Ardo-Kola, and Wukari local government areas.
The permanent secretary told NAN that the State Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had embarked on sensitisation to alert communities residing by the river bank to relocate.
According to him, relocation of communities out of flood prone areas had reduced the scope of damage to life and property during the flood.
He disclosed that the state Government had released the sum of N50million to the agency to provide relief materials to the victims of flood disaster in the state.
The permanent secretary stated that the Federal Government had also provided relief materials for the state, saying that the materials would be distributed soon to the victims.
