Flood submerges bridge, sweeps off culvert

BARELY few weeks after the devastating Mokwa flood in Niger State, another flood has occurred in Bida, capital of Bida Local Government Area of the state, where 11 houses were submerged, property lost, bridge and culvert also swept away. However, no life was lost.

The incident happened on Saturday with the torrential rain lasting about five hours from 3 a.m., to 8 a.m.

Areas greatly affected include Kodogi/Nasarafatu road, Bida; Federal Polytechnic and G.R.A road, Bida.

The state government led by the Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Mohammed Kolo has led a delegation for an on-the-spot assessment.

He expressed sympathy to the affected people and areas, saying the areas will be fixed soonest.

He said: “The state government is worried and pained about the development and within the next  48 hours,  government would commence the rehabilitation of the one kilometre road to avert future occurrence.

“Government will, as a matter of utmost importance, also address the ecological challenges bedeviling the area.” 

Unlike the Mokwa flood, which the cause is yet unknown, that of Bida was attributed to a road construction company handling rehabilitation of roads in the area.

A resident in the area, Abubakar Bida, said: “The Arab Contractors, the firm handling the construction of road from low-cost houses, Federal Polytechnic to G.R.A road in Bida diverted the drainage with huge volume of water to the two communities leading to the destruction of property worth millions of naira.”

Another resident from Man Musa Kodogi, Yakubu Mohammed, explained that the two communities had faced devastating erosion in the past.

Yakubu said: “This is not the first time we are experiencing this flood. We experienced similar one in 2014 even before the road construction, hence the need for urgent government's intervention to avert further destruction of property. 

“The Saturday rain has rendered many people homeless, some business people are facing untold hardship, their economic activities have been paralyzed. So we are  appealing to Governor Muhammad Bago to come to our aid and rescue our people.”

Culled from Vanguard