Over 110,000 people in 24 communities including Makurdi, the state capital, have been displaced by flood in recent months, the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has said.
Following heavy rains which began on Sunday, August 27, more houses have been affected by the flood with over 3,000 houses submerged.
When Channels Television crew visited the Nyiman BIPC Housing Estate, victims said they are yet to get any form of help from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Three days after the Makurdi metropolis was caught up in floods, houses were seen to have submerged up to lintel level while over 100 vehicles were trapped in the flood between the Housing Estate and Achusa districts of the state capital.
Some residents pushed their cars to safety along Doo Palace road in Achusa while others were salvaging household items into waiting vans for possible relocation from the flood.
One of the affected residents at the Media Village, Mr George Okoh, told Channels Television that the torrential floods severely hit his home.
Okoh said, “At about 1.00 am (Wednesday), the rains came heavier and when we woke up this morning, our rooms were completely flooded.”
“In fact, if not for some neighbours who alerted us, we would have probably drowned in the room and as you can see, the place is deserted and it is a major disaster.
“I have evacuated my family to a higher ground, they have gone to the family house and they will be there till we find a solution to the flood.”
At the BIPC Housing Estate, lady Kate Ijogi whose cars were submerged by flood appealed to the government to come to her aid.
She said, “My house is completely submerged, two of my cars are completely submerged, you can see one out here and the other one is inside the compound.”
“There was nothing I removed from my house because the water had gone up to the window level when we tried to escape. But I was able to rescue everybody in my house.
“I’m devastated and confused and I don’t know what to do. No help is coming from anywhere, we have called NEMA and every rescue agency but nobody has responded”.
On her part, a widow who also lives in the estate lamented the extent of damage the flood had done to the property passed onto the family by her late husband.
She said, “Government should do something because the flood is becoming too much for us. For someone like me, a widow with five children, we do not have anywhere to stay”.
“Our properties are still inside because, by the time they woke us up, we were unable to evacuate them. For properties like electronics, you cannot salvage them”.
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