Private homes and farmlands and properties worth millions of naira have either been destroyed or submerged in Kankia Local Government Area of Katsina State after an earth-dam overflowed with rain water.
The destruction is coming on the heels of the recent rainstorm that has destroyed hundreds of homes and farmlands in Musawa council area.
It was learnt that the earth-dam, which is being constructed by the Sokoto Rima Basin Development Authority, SRBDA, overflowed following a heavy downpour over the weekend.
An eyewitness said though no lives were lost, several communities were affected, even as two villages, Kauyen Dawa and Unguwan Rimi recorded more structural and farmland damages.
He said some of the victims have either relocated or chosen to hang around their properties till the flooding subsides while others were trying to salvage what was left of their homes and crops.
Already, the state government has sent a delegation to inspect the extent of damage and make recommendations on possible ways of assisting the victims.
The state's Commissioner for Works, Arch Maikudi Kankia and the council area chairman, Abubakar Lawal headed the delegation that sympathised with the victims.
They assured that efforts would be made to repair the dam and keep same from future overflowing. In a related development, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has advised Nigerians to be environment-friendly to combat flooding.
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, the Information Officer, South-West Zone of NEMA, told journalists in Lagos that the nonchalant attitude of Nigerians was fast affecting the environment.
He said in spite of efforts by government at all levels, there was no corresponding effort on the part of the citizens to combat flooding. He said: "It is really surprising that people still empty their waste secretly at night in water channels or dispose of their waste indiscriminately," he said.
Farinloye said that rainfall was not the primary cause of flooding in Lagos but increased urbanisation and lack of planning laws in relation to buildings in flood plains.
The information officer observed that the state governments in the zone have built drainage systems within the existing floodprone areas to control flooding.
National Mirror
All this things shouldn't be allowed to destroy homes anymore because there can be solutions to it. We have to work on them.