Kogi On Red Alert As Rivers Niger, Benue Water Levels Rise

Residents of flood-prone areas successful Kogi State are present surviving successful fears pursuing the emergence successful h2o levels of some River Niger and River Benue.

Kogi State is 1 of the States alerted of impeding flooding, according to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) predictions. The State besides plays big to the Confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue.

When LEADERSHIP visited the slope of River Niger connected Tuesday, the h2o measurement has reached an alarming level, sending fears into spines of the radical surviving astatine the stream bank.

Hassan Jibril, who lives successful Pata area, which is prone to yearly flooding, said they are present surviving successful fears, adjacent arsenic helium said that they person ever relocated each twelvemonth since the 2012 deadly flood which submerged respective communities successful respective section governments successful the state

“We are present surviving successful fears due to the fact that of the emergence successful h2o level. This is however we utilized to determination each twelvemonth since 2012,” she said.

The affected section authorities areas are Kogi, Ajaokuta, Ofu, Ibaji, Adavi, Bassa and Omala.

However, addressing journalists connected Tuesday successful Lokoja, the Executive Secretary, Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA), and squad pb for Emergency Response and preparedness team, Alhaji Mouktar Atimah, disclosed that Kogi State was nary longer harmless owing to the rising of the waters successful the Rivers Niger and Benue.

The Executive Secretary had earlier paid a sojourn to the Commissioner of Health connected the request for effectual collaboration due to the fact that of the wellness challenges posed by the impending flood.

He intimated residents of the state, peculiarly these surviving successful the flood-prone areas, of the rising levels of the Rivers Niger and Benue, saying that successful the adjacent 72 hours, the State volition beryllium entering a hard period.

“Water is rising, dams are acceptable to beryllium opened successful the adjacent fewer days. By this clip past year, the level of the h2o was 8.1m, but with the planned merchandise of h2o tonight, our State volition beryllium overrun.

“We are opening 42 IDP camps crossed 8 LGAs, Ibaji arsenic we talk is not having campy arsenic planned due to the fact that the country is already 96% overrun by water.

”Already 5 communities successful Ibaji are already submerged. In Idah already, immoderate communities are already affected with radical asked to determination to precocious ground.

“We are utilizing this mean to telephone connected citizens residing successful flood-prone areas to determination to precocious ground, arsenic we are nary longer harmless successful Kogi with the planned merchandise of h2o from dams,” helium stated.

The KOSEMA Executive Secretary, however, assured that the State Government was not resting connected it oars arsenic it was moving circular the timepiece to mitigate the interaction of the floods.