Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) says no fewer than 100 households were affected by flood in Makurdi, the state capital, following recent rainfalls.

Emmanuel Shior, the agency’s executive secretary, disclosed this in an interview on Monday in Makurdi.

“We are doing everything to support the victims. So far, we have captured over 100 households within Makurdi that were submerged by the heavy rainfalls,” he said.

Mr Shior said the agency had advised people in flood-prone areas to relocate to avoid disaster.

Floods have become more regular in Makurdi in the last decade, destroying lives and property worth millions.

The affected areas were among the worst hit in the 2017 flood that displaced over 120,000 persons in Makurdi.

Mr Shior added that the areas worst affected by the latest flooding were Achussah, Mobile Barracks Road, Welfare Quarters Extension, Kucha, Utembe, Idye, Agber Village, and Judges Quarters, amongst others.

He mentioned that SEMA had set aside relief materials for the victims and extended some of the existing camps to accommodate them. SEMA also activated its contingency plan to cater for the victims.

The SEMA official further disclosed that the agency met with all environmental sector stakeholders, mapping out ways to assist the victims.

In 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated a 3.35-kilometre Idye Basin drainage channel to address the ecological challenges facing Makurdi. 

(NAN)