25th August, 2015
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Monday in Daura, Katsina State, distributed relief materials to at least 2,000 flood-disaster victims, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The NEMA Director-General, Mr Muhammad Sani-Sidi, who handed over the materials to the victims, said the flood had affected seven local government areas of the state.
According to him, the major cause of the flooding was the blocking of drains with refuse and building of houses on water ways.
He said that the intervention was sequel to a report about the disaster and subsequent needs assessment conducted by the State Emergency Management Agency.
The director-general said that that NEMA would ensure that the blocked drains were cleared and advised the people to desist from such an act.
He also advised the people against building houses in flood-prone areas to prevent loss of lives and properties.
Meanwhile, Gov. Aminu Masari has commended NEMA for its intervention, describing it as timely.
“It happens every other year; and this shows we are not learning anything as people keep blocking the drains with refuse.
“To forestall this occurrence, drains must be evacuated, then structures built on water ways pulled down.
“NEMA has immensely helped the victims because they gave immediate attention to them the very day we alerted them of the catastrophe.”
Masari, who was represented by Mr Nasiru Yahaya, the Deputy Speaker, Katsina State House of Assembly, noted that flooding was a recurrent incident in Katsina State.
In a remark, the Executive Secretary, Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Hassan Suleiman, thanked NEMA for its prompt response.
Suleiman stated that he would ensure that the materials were evenly distributed to the victims.
In her reaction, one of the flood victims, Mrs Hadiza Mohammed, who described the flooding as devastating, thanked NEMA for its intervention.
She told NAN that the disaster came as a shock to her and her family, adding that they lost all their properties in the flood.
NAN reports that the flooding occurred on Aug. 16, 2015, collapsing several houses and destroying goods worth millions of naira.
The affected local government areas were Zango, Daura, Ingawa, Kusada, Charanci, Baure and Mai’adua.
Items distributed to the victims included bags of rice, maize, millet, cartons of Indomie noodles, tinned tomatoes, soap, detergent mattresses, blankets, wrappers, cement and roofing sheets, among others.