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Faith Awa Maji, Lafia
At least six houses were submerged, several shops with properties worth millions of naira were on Saturday destroyed in Lafia, the the Nasarawa state capital.
The destruction followed a torrential rainfall over the night resulting in the submergence of several houses, rendering many families homeless.
Shops were not spared as many properties worth millions of naira were affected in the flooding that cause havoc in the area.
Speaking to journalists shortly after monitoring this months environmental sanitation in Lafia, Director of Environment in the State Ministry of environment, Abubakar Muhammed attributed the flooding to poor environmental observation by the residents of Nasarawa State.
Muhammed disclosed that the state government has put in measures to mitigate flooding in the state and also lamented that, despite several warnings issued on the danger of blocking drainages, residents were still dumping refuse and carnages on the water ways.
According to him, the Ministry has commenced demolition of houses built on water ways saying that over 25 houses have been demolished in the state.
The Director of Environment said the demolition became necessary following failure of some residents to heed to government’s warning to desist from building structures on waterways considering the proneness to flooding and its devastating effects
He said that with Nasarawa placed number 26 out of 30 States to experience flooding by NIMET’s prediction for this year, efforts have been intensified to check the trend as the demolition of illegal structures was on going in urban cities like Lafia, Akwanga and Karu Local Government Areas to give ways for water passage.
Mohammed who visited U. A. C. Road in Lafia metropolis where more than six shops and residential houses were submerged following a heavy downpour, as a result of indiscriminate dumping of refuse in water ways by residents of the area.
He later announced that over 27 persons were arrested and prosecuted by the mobile court for violation of this month of July environmental sanitation in the state.
