Flood ravages Taraba community

Obiora Clinton

Residents of the Gashaka Local Government Area in the central geopolitical zone of Taraba State are counting their losses after heavy rainfall.

The rainfall lasted about six hours on Sunday, submerging several houses and washing away goods worth millions of Naira. Farm produce and domestic animals were also swept away by the flood.

They have urged the state government and the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to come to their aid. They also called on National Assembly members representing the zone to assist them.

Dauda Ali, who claimed that his farm had been washed away by the flood that ravaged Serti, the administrative headquarters of the council and its environs, said his dreams and that of other farmers experiencing bumper harvest had been cut short by the flood.

He lamented that the money spent on farms was loaned from cooperatives and individuals.

Another resident, Suleiman Abba, said goats and sheep were nowhere to be found since the flood ravaged the community.

Some of the victims, who are taking shelter in public places, said the flood was due to the lack of drainages in the area.