Charts of experts and managers of various dams in the country say, excessive water will begin to pour into the Rivers Niger and Benue from Tuesday night, which will cause an overflow of the river bank.
Kogi State Emergency Management Agency says floods have completely submerged Ibaji Local Government Area of the state.
Executive Secretary of the agency, Mouktar Atimav, disclosed this on Wednesday, in Lokoja.
He warned communities along the river bank to immediately relocate to safer grounds.
He also said that the state was no longer safe owing to the rising levels of water in Rivers Niger and Benue.
According to him, from charts of experts and managers of various dams in the country, excessive water will begin to pour into the Rivers Niger and Benue from Tuesday night, which will cause an overflow of the river bank.
“No fewer than 258 communities in eight local government areas of the state have been marked as flood-prone areas while 42 internally displaced persons, IDPs, camps have been constructed to take care of those to be displaced while an emergency operations centre has been opened.
“Already, five communities in Ibaji Local Government Area of the state were worst hit including Ota, Ofogbo, Itima and Owara community in Kogi Local Government Area of the state,” he said.
The SEMA boss further explained that the state Ministry of Health was key to disaster management in the state even as he intimated the Health Commissioner of the rising levels of the Rivers Niger and Benue, stressing that in the next 72 hours, the state will be entering a difficult period.
He commended the Health Commissioner for his proactive measures and support given to the agency, saying the support was responsible for zero casualty last year.
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