Adamawa State local council authorities have confirmed the death of three children, on Thursday night, who drowned, following the torrential rain, which flooded Yola, the the state capital.
Chairman of Yola North Local Government Council, Adamu Ibrahim Wakili, who confirmed the fatalities, added that “20,000 houses were inundated and subsequently destroyed, in the three-hour-long downpour.”
Wakil said the flood was partly caused by improper disposal of waste in the city. “There was heavy rain last night, but things got worse with the bad culture of disposing of waste in the drainage.”
On his part, Adamawa State deputy governor, Crowther Seth, has commiserated with the families of the flood victims and called on residents of the flood-prone areas to be on the alert, “especially as the rains are expected to be steady during August.”
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While appealing to the Federal Government for intervention, the deputy governor also assured them that the state government had taken emergency measures to cushion the effect of the flood in the state.
Two of the three flood victims, ages 6 and 4, were children of one Kabiru Bello of Wuro-Jabbe.
Narrating the sad news, Bello told SaharaReporters that his house was submerged, leading to the “death of my son and daughter.”
Other neighbourhoods affected by the torrential rain were Samu-Naka, Bachure, Kofare, Damilu and Jambutu within the capital city.
Major streets were also affected, as commuters experienced difficulty along the airport road and Jambutu bypass. One lane of the airport road, leading into the city centre was under the waters for several hours, thereby causing gridlock on the exiting lane.
