The Gombe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has said that three persons lost their lives and 22 others injured in the 2023 flood disaster in the state.
The agency said the disaster also killed seven animals, destroyed 1,838 houses and 257 farmlands between May and October 2023.
The agency’s Executive Secretary, Mr Abdullahi Abdullahi, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Gombe.
Abdullahi said that eight out of the 11 local government areas of the state experienced the disaster as against three LGAs predicted in the 2023 Flood Outlook.
He listed Akko; Funakaye, Balanga, Gombe, Nafada, Kaltungo, Shongom and Yamaltu/Deba as the worst-hit areas.
The Secretary said the rains accompanied by strong windstorms ravaged farmlands causing damage to the farmers in the affected communities.
The government, he said, distributed relief materials to disaster victims to assuage their sufferings.
According to him, the state government is making an effort to expand the scope of the support services to all the affected communities.
He said, “Gov. Inuwa Yahaya has approved relief materials for some communities affected. We have also submitted reports of flooding in the remaining communities and efforts are on to also provide relief materials to them.”
Furthermore, he said the agency had written to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the North East Development Commission (NEDC), to facilitate support to the victims.
Speaking on the impact of this year’s flood, Abdullahi said there was a drop in the number of lives lost, adding that effective sensitisation activities contributed positively in this regard.
“Upon receiving flood alert from NiMet and NASA, Gov. Yahaya directed massive sensitisation as well as activation of emergency response to mitigate the impact of the disaster.
“This helped in creating awareness amongst residents of the state.”
While commending the state government for supporting the victims of the flood, Abdullahi appealed to those yet to be reached to exercise patience.
“The state government and other relevant agencies are aware of your plight and making efforts to assist you and I assure you as soon as we receive the materials, we will reach out to the affected communities.
(NAN)