Cameroon dam: Flood throw out 25 Edo communities from their Residential Abode
No fewer than 25 communities living along the bank of the River Niger have been submerged in flood in Edo State, following the release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
The affected communities are in the Etsako East, Etsako Central, and Esan South East local government areas of the state.
The Desk Officer of the Esan South East Local Government on Relief Materials and Distribution, Christopher Ojimah, confirmed the flood development on Monday.
Ojimah, who is also the Local Government Secretary of the Emergency Committee, said the Internally displaced camp in the local government had already been filled by displaced persons.
He said there were some communities, especially Ifeku, that had been completely submerged and their property and livestock swept away.
He said, “The release of water from the Lagdo Dam has caused flooding in these three local government areas with their houses submerged while residents had to abandon their houses.
“Some communities, especially, Ifeku, are completely submerged and their properties and livestock swept away. The IDP camp in Esan South East is already filled with residents.”
A resident of the affected area, John Odaku, said their farmlands had been submerged as they could not salvage their crops and livestock.
He said, “Our crops such as yam, cassava, and groundnut among others, have been submerged by flood while farm produce already harvested were swept away.
“We could not take our belongings due to the rising level of the flood, which is more than what we experienced last year.
“We couldn’t salvage our crops and farm produce and livestock as they were swept away by the ravaging flood.”
He called on the federal and state governments to come to their aid, noting that the local government had been shouldering the responsibility alone.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency has charged the people to relocate to IDP camps to avoid casualties.
Speaking on the development, the NEMA Head of Benin Operation Office, Dahiru Yusuf, said the agency had been monitoring the flood situation in collaboration with state and local governments and other stakeholders.
He said, “Three local governments of Esan South East, Etsako East and Etsako Central are affected and some communities are displaced already.
“We have visited all the flood-prone local governments to assess their level of preparedness. Most of the IDP camps in the various local governments are ready for use.”
