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By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
Not fewer than 100 houses have been completely washed away by flood which wreaked havoc in 13 communities in Darazo, headquarters of Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Aside washing away the houses and other structures including farmlands, the flood also rendered hundreds of people homeless forcing them to now take refuge in government buildings and other available spaces.
The confirmation of the disaster was made on Saturday by the Acting Director General overseeing the Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (BASEMA), Alhaji Bala Yakubu Lame when he answered questions from reporters.
He said that, “we have received a report that the flood affected many Households in the town , over 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed” .
He also said that State Emergency Officials have visited the town to ascertain the extent of the damages done to the communities in order to know how to immediately assist them.
The Member representing Darazo Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Kawuwa Shehu Damina in his reaction lamented that the flood destroyed properties valued at millions of naira.
Kawuwa Damina said that, “It is a pity, when we went round the town, we saw how the flood damaged people’s food stuffs, fertilizers and many valuables while many mud houses were destroyed” .
He said that it affected parts of the House of the Village Head of Darazo Palace.
In his account of the incident, Chairman of Darazo Local Government Council, Mahmud Bello said that “we thank the Almighty Allah who helped us, the heavy down pour started in the evening, if not God, the damages will be many, but there were no reports of deaths or injuries, we thank the Almighty Allah, it affected Houses in 13 communities”.
He also said that they have informed the state Government for possible assistance to the victims saying that the affected people are now living with their relatives in the town or nearby settlements that are not affected.
However, some residents of the area said that there are reports of missing people especially children who are being searched for as of the time of this report.
A prominent traditional title holder in the area, Nasiru Ibrahim Darazo who is the Chigarin Darazo said that, “just because a person is unaccounted for it doesn’t mean they are officially missing, Instead, it’s a reflection of the number of people who haven’t been heard from by relatives and other loved ones, It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in trouble or in danger. They’re just letting us know that we need to check on these people”.
He said that the village Head of Darazo has directed all the Ward Heads in the affected areas to assess the damages done by the flood in their areas and come up with a good report.
