No fewer than 25 communities living along the bank of the River Niger have been submerged in flood in Edo State following the release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
The local government areas on the bank of the River Niger that are affected by the flood are Etsako East, Etsako Central and Esan South East.
Speaking with journalists, Ojimah Christopher, Desk Officer at Esan South East Local Government on Relief Materials and Distribution, said 25 communities have been submerged in the flood.
Ojimah, also the Local Government Secretary of the Emergency Committee, said displaced persons have already filled the Internally Displaced Camp in the local government.
According to him, some communities, especially Ifeku, have been completely submerged, and their property and livestock have been swept away.
A resident of the affected area, John Odaku, said floodwaters submerged their farmlands, which include yam, Cassava, and groundnut, and swept away farm produce already harvested.
He said they could not take their belongings due to the rising flood level, which, according to him, is more than last year.
“We couldn’t salvage our crops, farm produce, and livestock as the ravaging flood swept them away.”
He called on the State and Federal Governments to help, noting that the local government has been shouldering its responsibility.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency has charged the people to relocate to IDP camps to avoid casualties.
Speaking on the development, the NEMA Head of the Benin Operation office, Dahiru Yusuf, said the agency has been monitoring the flood situation in collaboration with state and local governments and other stakeholders.
“Three local governments of Esan South East, Etsako East and Etsako Central. Some communities are displaced already.”
He said they had visited all the flood-prone local governments to assess their level of preparedness, noting that most of the IDP camps in the various regional governments were ready.
