Flood: Over 500 houses submerged, millions lost in Kogi

Over 500 houses have been submerged, while properties worth millions of naira have been lost due to floods in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

It was  gathered that vehicles and pedestrians currently face difficulties moving across Ganaja under Ajaokuta Local Government and Old Market roads in Lokoja as overflow from nearby River Niger surges through the roads.

Our correspondent, who monitored the situation in the state capital on Sunday, reported that parts of the old market road, Kabawa, and Ganaja-Ajaokuta road have been submerged by River Niger.

At the Ganaja axis, canoe operators made brisk business ferrying people to their homes.

Also, residents in flood plains, particularly around Gadumo, Ganaja and Adankolo communities in Lokoja, are leaving their homes in droves.

The daily rise of water in Lokoja which caused the flooding of several parts of the town, including Adankolo, Gadumo and Ganaja communities, among others, have forced helpless families out of their homes, while many were trapped in their residences and unable to vacate their flooded houses.

The devastation is coming two weeks after the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) appealed to residents in the town and other communities in flood-prone areas to vacate such areas to higher plains following an earlier warning of impending flood by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

Confirming the latest development, the Kogi Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Victor Omofaiye appealed to residents to move to higher ground.

Hon Victor Omofaiye, who led his team through the city to appeal to residents on the need to ensure clean drainages to avoid blockages and allow for free flow of water, said efforts are on by the state government to make all available schools in Lokoja, camps for people displaced by the current flooding ravaging the state.

He expressed worries that several hundreds of people have been displaced, adding that, aside from the available schools that would serve as temporary camps, the hostels in Wada Estate are already prepared to receive displaced persons.

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