Seven people have lost their lives in a flood disaster in Magama and Rafi local government areas of Niger State.
The director-general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Ahmed Ibrahim Inga, who made this known in a statement yesterday, noted that six lives were lost in Magama and 1 in Rafi.
He said many people had also been rendered homeless as their houses, farmlands, bridges and some roads were washed away in Lavun, Magama, Rafi, Kontagora, Gbako, Mashegu and Wushishi local government areas.
Inga warned that the general assessment of the impact of rainfall was still ongoing, and called on communities to clear drainages and flush away stagnant water to avoid breeding mosquitoes that could cause malaria.
He also warned against building on waterways and dumping of refuse in drainages, just as he called on riverrine communities to limit their activities around river banks during the peak of the rainy season.
“Preferably, people living in riverine areas should relocate to safer grounds already identified,” he said.