Environment

NASARAWA State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) says it has distributed relief materials to 465,000 flood victims to cushion their hardships.

Mr Zachary Allumaga, Executive Secretary of NASEMA told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lafia that the victims were located in 91 communities in the state.

“The total of 91 communities and total of 465 000 persons in five local government areas of the state; Awe, Lafia, Doma, Toto and Nassarawa were affected by the flood.

“These local government areas border River Benue except for Karu where we recorded three flood deaths,’’ he said.

Allumaga said the state government received relief materials from NEMA as a form of assistance, which was added to those procured by the state government and distributed to the affected local government areas.

He listed items distributed to include food and non-food items such as mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, wrappers, towels, mats, buckets, cups, cooking utensils, and soaps.

Others are detergents, clothes, diapers, bags of beans, rice, maize, guinea corn, garri and bags of sugar.

“The state government and NEMA have since distributed relief materials to the affected local government areas; as a state, we have our own relief materials.

“When NEMA brought its own relief materials, we combined them with what the state government had in store and distributed to the affected people to mitigate their sufferings.

“We went round with the governor to distribute the relief materials; disaster is a daily occurrence; building collapse left and right, especially old buildings without foundation, and we keep assisting,’’ he said.

Allumaga also told NAN that government’s plans to relocate flood-prone communities to safer grounds had always met with resistance from indigenes who have sentimental attachment to their ancestral lands.

“We can’t force them to leave; most of these people are fishermen, if you ask them to relocate to high ground, they find it difficult because they think you want to deprive them of their right to livelihoods.

“If government has the resources recommended, it could build houses and ask the people to occupy them. That’s the best way to get them to relocate,’’ Allumaga stressed. (NAN)

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Tags: NASEMA Zachary Allumaga