14 killed in Niger flood

Garba Salisu, director relief, Niger State Emergency Management Agency, says 14 persons have so far died due to flooding in different parts of the state.

In an interview with NAN on Saturday, he said the agency had engaged the services of at least 200 local divers in affected communities for rescue operations.

Salisu also appealed to residents of the state to desist from building on waterways and to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse to reduce the effect of the flooding.

He also urged communities experiencing gully erosion to relocate whenever the threat of flood became high.

“My major fear is that, most rains are usually at night when the people are sleeping, but the only way is to create environment for smooth flow of water’’, he said.

The director also called on communities that are prone to flooding to urgently vacate the area temporarily to avoid disaster.