A joint assessment team from the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has conducted an on-the-spot evaluation of flood-affected areas in Tureta and Shagari local government areas of Sokoto State, respectively.
The assessment was led by the chairman of Tureta council, Hon. Aliyu Abubakar, who was accompanied by the council staff and councillors and Shagari local government desk officer, Ibrahim Abubakar.
During the visit to Tureta, the team observed mass destruction caused by the flood, which affected residential houses, including settlements hosting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Inwala area.
The council has provided an alternative temporary settlement for the over 250 affected IDPs to address the immediate humanitarian needs.
Some of the areas and locations visited during the assessment include Inwala, Shiyar DanDile, and Lambar-Tureta, among others.
Among the severely affected properties is the house of Mr. Salisu Muhammad, an officer with the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, which was completely submerged by the floodwaters.
Fortunately, no fatalities were recorded. However, two women sustained injuries when a wall collapsed on them during the incident.
Before moving to Lambar-Tureta, a stop was made at ‘Ala Community’, where the house of one, Malam Shehu Ala, was seriously destroyed by the flood.
Preliminary findings from the assessment revealed that the flooding in the Lambar-Tureta area was primarily due to the absence of proper drainage systems capable of diverting excess water away from residential zones.
Some of the affected areas in Shagari local government include Lambara, Kambama, Mazoji, Jaredi, Shagari Town, Kajiji, Lokoko, Sanyin-lawan, and Karoga, among others, where the assessment revealed that several houses and farmlands were damaged by the flood.
At Illela-Chofal, it was observed that farmland located at Fadamar-Kangi was completely submerged by floodwaters.
