Flood: Two women, man die trying to salvage cassava farm

THREE persons died yesterday, no thanks to the persistent flooding in Isoko, Delta State.

Two of them died in Oyede community, Isoko North Local Government while the third died in Irri, Isoko South Local Government.

The two women died in their desperate bid to salvage their cassava farm. They were trying to uproot the premature cassave when their canoe capsized.

The man in Irri, identified as Awee Itimi, also died in the flood while trying to salvage his farm.

Meanwhile, thieves have invaded houses of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), conducting massively looting of  properties.

It was also gathered that suspected armed pirates were also burgling houses in Isoko riverine communities.

In Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated the National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation, charging members to raise funds and rehabilitate the flood victims within a year.

Fielding questions from State House correspondents after the inauguration, the co-chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said they will strive to raise as much as N100 billion so that the flood victims could be rehabilitated properly as well as put in place measures to guide against future occurrence.

Dangote, who was flanked by Mrs Florence Ita-Giwa and Mrs Folorunso Alakija, assured that the money and relief materials will get to the real victims, saying: "We as private people are very serious because we are donating our money out of our own goodwill.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also said yesterday that 623,690 people have been displaced in 344 communities of nine local governments in Kogi State.

The head of Media and Communication, Yishau Shuaibu, who stated this in a statement, said of the 623,690 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), 50,493 were accommodated in 87 camps in the state.

 Earlier, Governor Idris Wada commended the President for his quick intervention and for the immediate release of N500 million to mitigate the effect of the flood in the state.

The Nigerian Compass