Kaduna’s Kugenda Industrial area, submerged

Femi Adi/ Kaduna

The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Muhammed Sani Sidi, was chased out of Kaduna yesterday when he visited. Victims of the flood that ravaged the city the day before were angry with him because, apart from coming late, he visited only Kigo road, leaving other affected areas.

Kaduna residents woke up early hours of Tuesday to witness heavy flood that sent over a thousand residents out their houses.

The flood which affected parts of Barnawa, Narayi, Ugwar Romi, Kigo Road, Goni-Gora, Ugwar Romi and Kamazo areas started building up the previous day at about 2 pm, but later became worse at about 7pm with hundreds of houses, especially those by the river submerged completely.

Muhammed Sani Sidi

Several farm lands, fish ponds and poultry farms were equally destroyed by the heavy flood that have ravaged several parts of the metropolis.

A tour of some of the affected areas by TheNEWS shows that the water level continues to rise, threatening, lives, property, major roads and streets in Barnawa, Kudenda, Barayi and Ungwar Romi.

One of displaced Kudenda residents Kayode Emmanuel, told this magazine that he and other neighbours couldn’t pack their loads because of they were caught unawares. “We first saw the river rising and then later overflowing its bounds. We thought it was the usual flood only to discover that it was very heavy,” said Emmanuel.

At Kigo Road, a metropolitan area ravaged by floods yearly, Fred Chinedu, a trader told this medium that the area has always been consumed by flood but this year’s flood is the worst.

Chinedu who said there were warned and advised to leave the area, particularly, those of whose house are close to river Kaduna lamented, “As you can see, the flood has affected almost all the major streets and houses at Kigo Road including my own.”

According to most residents affected, they have resolved to seek God’s intervention to stop the rains and flood. However, while the displaced persons pray and watch their houses submerged by the flood helplessly, the torrential rains continue to fall in the state.

Meanwhile, at 8am the yesterday when the magazine visited some of the affected areas, the State Emergency Management Agency SEMA personnel were yet to arrive for either rescue mission or provide any form of intervention.