Rainstorm destroys 15 houses, farmlands in Kogi community

Fifteen houses and several farmlands were reportedly destroyed as a rainstorm wreaked havoc in the Iyah Gbedde community in Ijumu LGA of Kogi.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted 48-hour rainfall over parts of the federal capital territory (FCT) and 24 states from Thursday to Friday.

Emmanuel Jeminiwa, national president of the Iyah Gbede Development Association (IDA), described the incident as “devastating and very unfortunate”.

Jeminiwa who did not provide figures of people and houses affected by the rainstorm, said many families have been rendered “homeless and helpless” due to the incident.

“What’s more worrisome is our food crops such as yams, cassava and maize have been washed away by torrential rain that left us with no option,” NAN quoted Jeminiwa as saying.

“You know that Iyah Gbede is an agrarian community, hence the devastation on our crops. The disaster also affected our community township roads and rendered them impassable.

He said farmers could also not access their farms as the flood also destroyed leading to their plantations.

Jeminiwa who noted that the damage done was beyond what the community could handle, called for assistance for those affected.

Meanwhile, Victor Omofeye, the state commissioner for environment, said the government was aware of the incident.

Omefeve said adequate preparations were being made to ascertain the level of damage and how victims could be assisted as expected.

He warned residents against living around flood-prone areas in view of the NiMET’s early warning on the heaviness of this year’s rainfall and its devastating effects.