The Bauchi State Government has confirmed that, so far, twenty-four people have been killed following a flood disaster that has ravaged 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state since the beginning of the rainy season.
The confirmation was made by the Commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajara Yakubu Wanka, while briefing journalists at the end of an extraordinary State Executive Council (SEC) meeting held on Monday at the Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office.
According to the Commissioner, 163 people have been injured, 122,330 households have been displaced, 12 major roads have been cut off, mostly in the northern part of the state, 60 culverts have been washed away, 52,005 houses have been completely destroyed, and 173 electricity poles have collapsed.
The Commissioner added that farmlands have been destroyed, as well as 11,000 domestic animals, thereby rendering thousands of people homeless and forcing them to seek shelter with those who were not as severely affected.
She also stated that the Ministry is working with the Ministry of Education to ascertain the number of educational institutions affected by the flood in order to determine the steps necessary for mitigation.
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Hajara Yakubu Wanka further added that the Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, has constituted a high-powered committee headed by the Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning, and Multilateral Coordination, Aminu Hammayo, to assess the extent of the damage.
According to her, the committee is to propose measures to the government for palliation, in line with the directive of the Federal Government to states affected by flooding.
The Commissioner also mentioned that the Ministry, in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), conducted a scaled-up assessment to mitigate the effects of the flooding, following warnings issued earlier by NiMet.
“Though the rains are still falling unabated, the flooding continues. So far, in terms of losses, the state has *-incurred a total of N22.319 billion,” Hajara Yakubu Wanka disclosed.
