8/03/2012 05:26:00 AM
Three thousand people have been
displaced by floods and landslides following three days of torrential rainfall
on the Mambilla Plateau in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The Chairman of the local government, Dr. David Jeduwa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo yesterday that crops, houses and livestock valued at over N200 million were destroyed.
He said many villages in Magu ward were swept away by the floods, adding that the rain, which fell in “an unusual pattern” on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, rendered the residents homeless.
He said initial estimates put the total loss at over N200 million.
Jeduwa said villages, such as Naso, Zango, Magu, Mayo-Nyebbe, Kan-Iyaka and Ngelnyaki, among others, were either completely swept away or partially damaged by water from River Mayo-Nyebbe.
He said the river overflowed its banks as a result of the downpour.
The chairman also said the landslides buried vast farmlands, footpaths and grazing reserves.The damaged areas included many hectares of maize farms, groundnut farms, bean farms as well as cocoyam, banana plantations, eucalyptus, plantain and pear farms.
He said more than 100 herds of cattle and other livestock were either killed in the flood or struck by lightning.
The chairman said a councillor from the affected ward lost 40 cows, while a resident, Alhaji Bakochi, lost about 70 herds of cattle to the disaster.
He appealed to the government and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to come to the aid of the victims, saying the magnitude of the devastation was beyond the capacity of the council.
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