 And 66 houses and 150 farmlands have been destroyed by flood in the Laba Birey village, Bacta district in Chilengloko government area of the Damawa state. Dr. Mohamed Suleiman, executive secretary of Damawa state emergency management agency at SEMA confirmed this on Saturday in Yola. Suleiman said the catastrophe occurred between August 11th and 12th following the heavy rains that lasted for two days. At SEMA boss, however, said the number of casualties were yet to be ascertained. And now joining us is the executive secretary at Damawa state emergency management agency at SEMA, Abdelahi Suleiman, to share his thoughts on the current situation in Damawa. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Thank you very much. But the point of correction is not Abdelahi, Mr. Mohamed, I mean Suleiman. Apologies, Mr. Suleiman, Mohamed Suleiman. So I want us to quickly understand what the situation is in Damawa. Reports have it that flood has been a major challenge and has destroyed houses and farmlands. Can you quickly share with us what the current situation is? Yeah, the current situation presently is affecting a community in Shelling local government where we've lost over 150 farmlands and then over 66 houses with the flood. And the flood happens as a result of heavy downpour that happened on the 11th and 12th of this month. Okay. Are there any casualties on record as currently? For now, we've not recorded any casualties. Okay. And you know, I'm sure you've been in Damawa for a while. What do you think, you know, is the reason behind, you know, the current catastrophe? Because rainfall is not new to Damawa state. So is it a challenge with drain age? No, actually it's as a result of heavy downpour that, you know, the rivers and then the whole location got excess rainfall. That is it. Contrary to what we were expecting and what has been predicted by Naimet and Naisa, where we are expecting the flood to come as a result of opening of Lakdodam in Cameroon. That is why, in fact, the local governments that are at the bank of River Benway are predicted to be having the flooding. Although the game is still not yet over, we are still, I mean, sensitizing those, more especially those that are living along the river bank to relocate so that they will not be caught unaware. Local governments from Fufore, Yola South, Yola North, Demsah Gire, Newman, La Morde and Guyuk were the ones predicted by Naimet and Naisa to be having flood. But this time around, we are having the flood in Shaling local government. That is the local government bordering Guyuk as a result of heavy downpour in that area. Okay. Well, you know, seeing the way that this has turned out, you know, what would you ask of the Adamao State government, you know, with regards relief for these people who have been affected and how can Adamao State plan better, you know, for the rainy season to avoid a catastrophe like this? Really, what we've done is immediately after getting this report, when we get the, I mean, the preliminary assessment, I have forwarded my request to the state government and by the grace of God, I believe they will respond positively. And even before that, when we got the, I mean, later from Naimet predicting the flood in the state, I have sent Adamao to the governor. He has approved it. We are just waiting for the release of the funds. And apart from that one, we've someone, a lot of, we've been having a lot of media briefings and sizing those that are living in these areas to relocate. And also we had a plan contingency plan. I mean, flood contingency plan with some of our partners here operating in the state and it is ready. I believe with the flooding coming in, we'll just swing into the action and then respond appropriately. Okay, well, you mentioned, you know, by the grace of God, you hope that the government will respond, you know, appropriately. But definitely sure they will respond. Yeah. So what I'm trying to clarify is what exactly is the response? Is it going to be with a makeshift housing for these people who have been, who have lost their homes? Is it going to be with food stuff? Or are they all going to be moved to a certain location where they will be taken care of? What is Naima's response? Or what is what Naima and the state government's response? Yeah, the response will first of all look at their needs. Response will go according to needs. The first thing I believe they will be in need is shelter, food, non-food items, and then drugs, medication. And the government, in fact, just an hour ago, I was able to discuss way forward with the executive chairman of Adamauer State Primary Health Care Agency on how to handle these type of issues. And I believe we are on top of the issue. The state will respond appropriately. All right. Mr. Mohamed Suleiman, we would like to speak with you again sometime during the week, next week, to get feedback on what the situation is then, and if the government has truly responded to those people who are currently in need. But thank you very much for joining us this evening and for speaking with us. You're welcome. Hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.