At least 35 people have been confirmed dead and over 200 houses destroyed by the flood that followed the heavy down pour in Jos, Plateau state capital. Red Cross officials said on Monday 23 July 2012.
“We have recovered the bodies of 35 people that drowned in the overnight flooding,” said Manasie Phampe, head of the Red Cross in Plateau state.. “About 200 homes have either been submerged or destroyed.”
He said the confirmed victims so far included a 90-year-old woman and a three-month-old baby, adding that the toll could rise.
“Rainwater and water from the Lamingo dam which overflowed swept across several neighbourhoods in the city,” he explained. “We are still searching for more bodies as many people have been declared missing.”
However, a statement released by the Head of Public Relations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yushau Shuaib, put the number of the dead at 21 and 35 missing.
The statement further said a search party has been dispatched to the north-central city to find missing persons “search and rescue officers to the areas as they were immediately deployed to assist in the recovery of those affected.”
Director of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr. Edward Maigida, who is representing the Director General of the agency, Mohammed Sani Sidi, is leading the party.
Two camps have been opened to provide temporary shelter for the affected persons in Gangare Primary School and Islamiyya Secondary School where the Agency has also moved relief assistance to provide them with some succour.
The rescue operations were launched in the Gangare and Rikkos areas of Jos which was submerged by the devastating flood.