By Rachael Arukai, Dutse
Hunger looms in Jigawa as unprecedented flood submerges hundreds of farmlands across the 27 local government areas of the state, leaving 41 persons dead and over 60,000 homeless.
Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, has declared that while 41 persons who died were pulled out of collapse houses, over 7,000 houses were washed away in the ravaging flood that affected many parts of the state.
According to the Executive Secretary of SEMA, Alhaji Yusuf Sani told ASHENEWSONLINE in an exclusive interview in Dutse, that the floods were caused by torrential rainfall and overflow of river Hadeija.
According to him, the state has never witnessed the volume of flood disasters that is recorded this year. “We received many cases of flood each year but not in all the 27 local government areas”.
Sani explained that though the assessment of the flood is still ongoing, so far over 7,000 houses across the state have been completely washed away by the flood, while many others have partly collapsed.
On the Hadeija flood, he said it was caused by overflow from river Hadeija, adding that the flood is destroying towns and villages along river Hadejia which cuts across 10 local government areas in the state.
“This flood that was caused by the overflow of river Hadeija has affected approximately 170 kilometers long farmlands belonging to the people that have been displaced by the flood.
“Thousands of farmlands and their crops have also been washed away in all the affected parts of the state. What we are doing is providing canoes to the victims so that they can be carried to a central rehabilitation center in all the 27 local government”.
He further explained since it is difficult to reach some affected towns due to the water, the Agency has directed that all local government councils in the state should provide central rehabilitation centres so that feeding them will be easy.
Sani disclosed that the state government has spent N150 million for the purchase of relief materials to flood victims this year, adding that it will not be enough because of the number of victims affected in Jigawa alone.
ASHENEWSONLINE gathered that the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, had only sent it’s officials to assess the extend of the flood damage but the relief materials were to be received.
The agency boss appealed to the Federal government, individuals and corporate bodies to assist the displaced victims because what the agency has in stock cannot help the situation.
“What we have is stock is millet, corn, guinea corn, gari, sugar, groundnut oil, mats, mosquito nets, plastics plates and buckets.”
ASHENEWSONLINE’s visit to some of the rehabilitation areas in Ringim Jahun, and Hadejia, show that the victims had already started suffering due to lack of food.
It is clear that flood victims in Jigawa needs emergency attention because the displaced victims who are mostly women and children, are already starving and are prone to malaria attack and other water borne disease.
The people of Jigawa state are predominantly farmers, with the extent of damages on their farmlands. It is obvious that this year, hunger will continue in the affected towns and villages.
After the relief materials what next? Malam Abdul, a farmer in Ringim local government lamented thus: “We are already hungry, after the raining season who will give us food?”
The situation is the same everywhere, the flood victims who are farmers, have not only lost their farmlands and produce, but also lost their houses and all their properties including cooking utensils.
Some villagers say that after the flood, they usually go into their washed away farms in search of their buried by the mud.
