No fewer than 4,521 households were affected by a recent flash flood that ravaged several communities in Yobe State, authorities have said.
The incident was said to have claimed at least seven lives.
This followed the recent windstorm and flood disaster across the north-eastern state.
The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mohammed Goje, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the flood update in the state.
He revealed that emergency measures, including wet feeding for displaced families, temporary shelters, medical support, and rapid needs assessments, were activated.
‘On 15 August, a flash flood in the Potiskum LGA affected 21 settlements across 5 wards, displacing 1,261 households (12,470 individuals). Within hours, emergency measures were activated, including wet feeding for displaced families, temporary shelters, medical support, and rapid needs assessments’, he stated.
‘Despite the fact that 85 per cent of houses were mud structures and heavily damaged, families quickly received relief supplies, healthcare, and reintegration assistance.
‘Similarly, on 17 August, in the Nangere LGA, following distress calls from Garin Kolo and Ajim communities, SEMA deployed field teams and volunteers to assist 550 households (2,937 individuals). Emergency measures included sandbagging and embankment construction, food aid, safe water provision, and sanitation kits to avert disease outbreaks’.
While acknowledging the support of partners, he said that no single government could on its own respond to the growing scale and complexity of humanitarian emergencies, and therefore sought more support for the victims.
He further explained that the agency was working tirelessly with other relevant agencies in the state, especially the Yobe State Geographic Information (YOGIS) to ensure the number of individuals building houses along the waterways were stopped.
Similarly, the government has deployed a real-time river flow monitoring along the Yobe, Komadugu, Katagum, and Hadejia rivers; dissemination of NiMet and NIHSA climate forecasts to high-risk LGAs; and the adoption of a digital Kobo-based community reporting system linked to a live Power BI dashboard for timely flood alerts.
‘We have trained LGA rapid response teams on flood-related health emergencies and search-and-rescue operations, with advanced rescue kits, cholera treatment commodities, and hygiene kits provided to strengthen frontline response’, he stated.
