Nasarawa flood kills two, swallows 18 communities in Doma

Flooding has killed two people and swallowed 18 communities in a development area of Doma Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, the state government said on Monday.

Several residents have been displaced, and buildings and farmlands have been destroyed, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Nawani Aboki, told journalists in Lafia.

He described what happened as "massive flooding" rather than the usual kind, and said the government hopes the water will dry up so people can pick up their normal lives again.

Why residents are being told to stay away

Aboki said displaced residents should not go back to their homes yet. The government wants to see the water pull back towards the River Benue first, because it is not certain whether more water will flow in from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

If more water comes, he warned, the situation could be worse than it is now.

The commissioner also asked people living in low-lying, flood-prone areas to move to higher ground when warnings are issued, so they are not swept away by repeated floods.

The flooding has piled pressure on host communities. Aboki said many smaller settlements are squeezed into larger ones: more than eight communities are sheltering in Agyma, and others are clustered in Rukubi and Akpanaja.

He said the government is committed to sending relief supplies to the affected communities to help prevent disease outbreaks.

What happens next

Governor Abdullahi Sule has directed the Director-General of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) to visit the affected communities and assess the damage.

Aboki said concrete action by the government is expected this week, once that assessment is done. He said he had already visited the area with the local government chairman to sympathise with the people.

For now, families displaced by the flood are waiting on two things: the water going down, and relief reaching them.