Persistent rains in August caused flooding in Yamadawa B of Dorayi, threatening the safety of residents and damaging houses.
Inadequate drainage systems worsened the flooding in the community, in Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State, with over 50 homes affected in the last three months.
Lawan Musa is among the affected residents. Like many others in the community, he placed pebbles on the water-logged streets to walk in and out of his five-bedroom flat due to the stagnant water caused by the flood.
To keep his family safe from high waters, Musa put the house up for sale and moved to an environment less prone to flooding.
Since moving into the community from Rijiyar Zaki barely a month ago, the family has had sleepless nights as the floods ravaged their home.
“The water comes from underneath. I woke up one night and was shocked because I had never seen that before. And this happened because of the stagnant water. I’m not used to it, so I have decided to put my house for sale because I can’t cope with this,” he said.
As Musa and his family live in constant fear and anxiety, a housewife, Sa'adatu Haliru narrates how the flood destroyed the foodstuff she stored in her kitchen, including rice, beans, and corn flour.
“The rain that fell on Saturday destroyed all our foodstuffs. We woke at midnight and saw ourselves and the food items in the water. We want the government and philanthropists to rescue us,” she said.
Another victim of the recurring environmental disaster who did not want her name to be mentioned, fled the community with her children to her family house for shelter after the flood submerged their home.
“The room is usually filled with water and soaks everything up. You won’t believe that people still stay here because of the damage. When it got worse 3 weeks ago we had to leave for my family's house. It is that bad,” she said.
With the frequency and intensity at which floods ravage the community, residents are calling for immediate action by the authorities.
“The stagnant water has reduced the quality of my house, if not for God’s protection it would have collapsed by now. My wife’s room is completely ruined including our food items. The government should come to our aid,” said Sunusi Mukhtar.
“Just look at how bad all the houses are. We are pleading with the government to do the needful before we lose everything,” another local, Musa Datti pleaded.
The Cause of Flooding in Yamadawa "B"
Nigeria Info observed that residents build structures without proper drainages, making the water flow stagnate on abandoned lands, buildings, and fences.
Our investigation also revealed that whenever it rains, the water from BUK Old Site, Kuntau, and Dorayi Karama flows into Yamadawa before flooding[ the community.
A few years back, the community constructed a drainage system to allow the free flow of water. However, the project fell short of the required capacity of the water that flows in and out of the community, as disclosed by a community leader, Abdulsalam Tijjani Muhammad Dala.
“We need government to provide drainage in the community because the water that passes through here is too much. We contributed about 800,000 to construct this drainage but it is too small to carry the water. So the water diverts into our houses.”
When contacted, the chairman of Gwale Local Government, Abubakar Mu’azu Maujo, said he was yet to receive the residents’ complaints, urging them to document their plight to the LGA for prompt action.
“We didn’t know about their condition because they did not report to the local government authorities. So I’m calling them to document their plight stating what they need and we will get approval and do the work for them,” he assured.
The Director of Environmental Pollution Control of the State Ministry of Environment, Abba Adamu Takai said the Kano State government was committed to clearing the drainage system in the state to address the lingering flooding.
Flooding Kills 179 in 2024
In its flood update released on Thursday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said flooding has killed 179 people in 15 states and displaced 208,655 in 22 states in 2024.
The agency also said the floods have destroyed 107,652 hectares of farmland and 80,049 houses.
According to NEMA, the states most affected by the flooding, which was caused by unprecedented rainfall and the rising of the Niger and Benue Rivers are mostly in Northern Nigeria.
All the incidents happened in 137 local government areas in 28 states.
The NEMA said 86,000 persons were affected in Bauchi, Zamfara (75,000), Sokoto (74,000), Jigawa (57,000), Niger (30,000), Kano (19,000), Imo (18,000), Adamawa (18,000), Ondo (17,000), Borno (17,000), Taraba (16,000), and Kwara (12,000).
Also, 11,000 persons were affected in Katsina, Yobe (11,000), Gombe (10,000), Benue (10,000), Lagos (9,000), Enugu (8,000), Kaduna (7,000), Nasarawa (6,000), Bayelsa (5,000), Ekiti (4,000), Kebbi (4,000), Oyo (2,000), Kogi (2,000), Ebonyi (2,000), Akwa Ibom (2,000) and the Federal Capital Territory (1,000).
It said Jigawa State recorded 34 deaths, Bayelsa (25), Kano (25), Bauchi (23), Taraba (15), Zamfara (13), Sokoto (10), Yobe (10), Adamawa (7), Katsina (5), Niger (5), Borno (2), Ebonyi (2), Kaduna (2) and Nasarawa (1).
The agency said Sokoto recorded 41,000 displaced persons, Bauchi (35,000), Zamfara (32,000), Niger (28,000), Jigawa (16,000), Imo (12,000), Taraba (8,000), Borno (7,000), Bayelsa (5,000).
However, Enugu recorded 4,000 displaced persons, Adamawa (3,000), Yobe (3,000), Nasarawa (3,000), Benue (2,000), Ondo (2,000), Katsina (2,000), Ebonyi (2,000), Gombe (1,000), Kebbi (1,000), Kano (1,000), FCT (1,000), Kogi (1,000).
It said Jigawa State recorded 34 deaths, Bayelsa (25), Kano (25), Bauchi (23), Taraba (15), Zamfara (13), Sokoto (10), Yobe (10), Adamawa (7), Katsina (5), Niger (5), Borno (2), Ebonyi (2), Kaduna (2) and Nasarawa (1).
The agency said Sokoto recorded 41,000 displaced persons, Bauchi (35,000), Zamfara (32,000), Niger (28,000), Jigawa (16,000), Imo (12,000), Taraba (8,000), Borno (7,000), Bayelsa (5,000).
However, 4,000 persons were displaced in Enugu, Adamawa (3,000), Yobe (3,000), Nasarawa (3,000), Benue (2,000), Ondo (2,000), Katsina (2,000), Ebonyi (2,000), Gombe (1,000), Kebbi (1,000), Kano (1,000), FCT (1,000), Kogi (1,000).
The agency also said 50,000 hectares of farmlands were affected in Bauchi State, Taraba (21,000), Jigawa (10,000), Sokoto (9,000), Niger (9,000), Kano (3,000), Zamfara (2,000), Gombe (1,000), Adamawa (1,000), Enugu (1,000) and Kebbi (1,000).
Experts are urging the government to desist from approving structures on waterways.
They also want residents to safeguard their environments.
