Residents flee as surging River Benue submerges parts of state capital
Several residents of Makurdi, the Benue state capital have started fleeing from their homes following the sudden rise in water levels of River Benue which has left hundreds of households displaced and stranded.
The sudden surge which has already submerged all the residential houses, hotels, school, churches, market and business places located about two kilometres from the bank of the river is also threatening the highbrow Judges Quarters and adjoining communities as the water level kept increasing by the hour.
Also threatened by the fast rising water were Kucha Utebe community, Gyado Villa community, part of Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, the Wurukum Abattoir, Timber and rice Markets as well as the Angwan Jukun areas of the state capital.
When Vanguard visited some of the affected communities, the bewildered residents were seen evacuating their belongings from submerged houses and those on the brink of being submerged.
Several of the victims who sounded helpless and pathetic blamed the failure of the Federal Government to dredge River Benue for the recurrent flooding of the state.
One of the victims, John Terka who was seen making frantic efforts to rescue his belongings from his residence located behind Kucha Utebe community could not hold back tears as he explained that he was away on a business trip for two days… “only to return today to discover that my property have all gone under water. I am trying to rescue what I can but I have lost my certificates and most of my valuables. I also worry for students of Benue State University many of who rented houses in this community but traveled out because of the strike. They would all return to discover that they have lost everything to the flood. It is sad because this could have been avoided only if the Federal Government had kept its promise to dredge the River Benue.”
The unfolding development is comparable to the 2012 and 2017 experiences when large part of Makurdi town and communities hosting the tributaries of River Benue were completely submerged leaving thousands of families displaced.
The disaster came few weeks after the Executive Secretary of Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Dr. Emmanuel Shior sounded the alarm of the impending flood. He had appealed to those residing close to the bank of the river to vacate to safer areas warning that the Cameroonian authorities could release water from the lagdo dam.
Dr. Shior who had assured that the agency was studying the development disclosed that the state government had put in place a committee over the perennial flooding of the state. He appealed to the Federal Government, local and international humanitarian organizations to come to the aid of the state.
It would be recalled that the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed had also recently warned that the Cameroonian authorities had started releasing excess water from lagdo dam which was expected to impact communities and states in the country. Vanguard
