The Grassroots Development Monitoring and Advocacy Centre (GDMAC) has commiserated with victims of the recent flood that devastated Mokwa community in Niger State.
It also called for flood-resilient infrastructure to mitigate damages from floods.
While lamenting the wanton destruction of lives and property by the flood, the group demanded an urgent investigation into its root cause and measures necessary to prevent a recurrence.
GDMAC in a statement signed by its executive director, Tunde Salman urged the appropriate authorities to provide immediate relief materials for the victims and develop flood-resilient infrastructure such as drainage systems.
“This is important because this particular incident was reportedly triggered by a combination of natural phenomena and human-induced factors.
“The intensity of the rainfall exceeded the drainage capacity of the state; however, the failure of the nearby dam exacerbated the situation drastically. The dam’s collapse released a vast volume of water into residential areas without prior warning. Mokwa’s geo-positioning adjacent to the River Niger and downstream of major dams such as Jebba and Kainji increases its vulnerability to such inundation events, particularly during periods of extreme rainfall and inadequate dam management,” the group said.
