At least 102 died in Ibadan food-red cross

Friday’s flooding in Ibadan, Oyo
State killed at least 102 people,
the Red Cross said on
Wednesday, the Associated Press
reports.
Some 1,500 people remain
displaced by the downpour,
officials of the humanitarian
agency said.
The major area hit hardest by the
floods remains the state capital,
Ibadan. Heavy rains on Friday
made a local dam in the area
overflow, sending water
crashing through the informal
settlements surrounding the
river banks.
The water also damaged three
bridges in the area, trapping
people in their neighborhoods,
said an official with Nigeria’s
National Emergency Management
Agency, Tunde Adebiyi.
Many homes, which were poorly
constructed, were washed away
when the water rushed through,
said Umar Mairiga, an official
with the Nigerian Red Cross.
“I think in the process a lot of
them were washed away by the
rainwater and others were
trapped in collapsed buildings,”
Mairiga said Wednesday.
Mairiga said it took time to get a
proper casualty figure as water
levels in some areas remain high
as seasonal rains continue.
NEMA had warned that rains
would be heavier this year than
last year.
In an assessment after the
flooding, the agency said more
flooding would be likely in areas
with inadequate drainage and
improperly disposed trash.
Last year, some 500,000 people
were displaced nationwide by
floods in the country.
Nigeria’s rainy season lasts
roughly from June to September.
The rains paused for most of
August this year, however, only
starting again within the last
week.
However, residents of the areas
worst-hit by the flood continued
to battle with relocation as most
of them have been displaced.
Many houses constructed in the
flood-prone areas collapsed
while a large number of
uncompleted buildings were
reduced to rubble at Odo-Ona
Elewe and Apete
A resident of Apete, Mr. Julius
Akintomide, said. “Look at all
these places, it is like a bulldozer
went through the area. That
structure over there used to be a
four-bedroom flat.