From Fred Itua, Abuja
The death toll from last weekend’s flood in Niger State, has risen to 15, Senator David Umaru, who represents Niger South Senatorial District of the state, disclosed in Abuja, yesterday.
Addressing Senate Correspondents after yesterday’s plenary, Senator Umaru, said although he could not give an authoritative figure on the current number of casualties, more bodies, believed to have washed away by the flood, were yet to be recovered by rescuers.
“The last time I spoke to someone there, he told me that the current figure was about 15. He said many more bodies were yet to be recovered by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
“I cannot give a concrete figure since NEMA will do that eventually. I am only telling you what I have been told,” Umaru told newsmen.
On Tuesday, about 13 were feared dead in Tafa and Suleja Local Government Areas the state, after heavy downpour which resulted in heavy flooding that ravaged several homes and farmlands.
In Lekki, Ikoyi, Ajah and Victoria Island area of Lagos, hundreds of residents were also sacked from their homes by flood. Delta, Ekiti and some states in coastal areas across the country were not exempted from the disaster.
Meanwhile, Senate has urged the Federal Government to embark on emergency intervention measures, through the release of money from ecological funds for construction of drainage systems in affected states.
The Red Chamber also called on the federal government to immediately send relief materials through NEMA, to affected areas.
Senate also called on the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) to intensify its weather forecasts and ensure that such forecasts are translated into local languages.