Flood kills 15 in Jigawa as Cameroon releases water

No fewer than 15 bodies were reportedly washed ashore on the banks of River Benue as flood completely submerged some parts of Adamawa State due to the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in the Cameroon.
However, the state governmentconfirmed only two dead.
Secretary to Adamawa State Government, SSG, Mr. Kobis Thimmu, told newsmen, yesterday, that the flooding in the state had assumed a crisis dimension as almost half of the state had been submerged.
He named the affected areas toinclude Lamurde, Numan, Yola North, Yola South, Fufore, Demsa, Girei, Mayo Belwa, Guyuk and Shelleng local government areas.

The SSG said the magnitude of the flood wasso enormous that the state government could not cope with the challenges and appealed to the Federal Government for urgent assistance.
The state government, according to Thimmu, was given short notice by the Cameroonian authorities for the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam, saying thegovernment nevertheless, alerted those residing at the river banks.
He lamented that though the state government was not prepared for the disaster, it hadgiven an assurance that everything humanly possible would be put in place to provide relief materials to those so far evacuated from theflood-prone areas.
He said: “The enormity and casualty of the flood is beyond the scope of the state government. Such flooding was last experienced in the state in 1958.
“We appealed to both the Federal Government and the Cameroonian authorities to quickly come to the aid of Adamawa State.”

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