Houses and farmlands have been destroyed in Nasarawa communities as flood submerged Loko, bordering River Benue in Nasarawa local government area, and Bassa in Kokona local government area of the state.
The Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, NASEMA, Ben Akwash, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on Monday in Lafia, the state capital.
Akwash disclosed that though the extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained, the flood swept the entire farms with nothing to recover, regretting that the incident at Bassa was not predicted by NIMET.
The NASEMA boss, however, noted that aggressive sensitisation is currently ongoing across all the flood-prone communities to ensure people are moved upland before the impending flood happens.
“We are working hand in hand with community leaders, local chiefs and youth groups to talk to some locals who remain adamant despite repeated warnings and appeal to move to uplands ahead of the flood.
“We have held several sensitisation meetings with all the communities prone to flooding and agreed with village heads and traditional rulers to persuade the locals who may want to see the flood coming before they move to kindly plead with them because we have provided safe havens in all the flood-prone communities in the event of a flood,” he said.
Akwash also hinted that Governor Abdullahi Sule, because of his passion and concern for those likely to be affected, procured adequate relief materials in stock against any eventuality, calling on flood-prone communities to take proactive actions in line with warnings by the federal government by moving to uplands now that the rainfall is on the increase.
Flood destroys houses, farmlands in Nasarawa communities
