Community Urges Government Action Amid Imminent Flood Threat

Laleye Dipo in Minna

One year after a devastating flood, the Mokwa community in Niger State has sounded the alarm over a new potential disaster.

The residents are urging the state and federal governments to act swiftly before the situation worsens.

In May of last year, heavy rains caused a flood that swept away more than 50 people, many of them children. Property worth over N200 million, including houses and farmlands, was destroyed.

This time, the community warned that the same spot where the previous flood began is again accumulating water after recent downpours.

They say the diversion of water flow caused by the reconstruction of a rail line that was damaged last year has left the area vulnerable to another flood.

Officials from the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), led by Director of Information Services Dr. Mohammed Hussaini, visited Mokwa to assess the situation.

Dr. Hussaini stated that the railways would be held responsible if another flood occurs in the town.

He blamed the embankment created by the railways for the problem, arguing that it obstructs the natural flow of water into the River Niger.

Hussaini, who led community leaders to the affected site, urged railway management to reopen the blockade that was put in place to allow floodwater to drain into the river.

Meanwhile, some residents have begun relocating their properties away from the flood-prone route.

Attempts to obtain a comment from railway management on the issue have so far been unsuccessful.