There are fears of a possible cholera outbreak within the areas affected by floods in Jos, Plateau state.

A medical official of the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria in the state, Tawa Abdulrahama, on Tuesday disclosed that no fewer than 65 persons in various camps were being treated for dysentery and diarrhoea.

“There are already high cases of cholera among victims of the flood” she said.

The Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Mallam Idi Waziri, who led a delegation to assess the level of damage done by the flood, said the government would support the victims.

Death toll hits 47

Meanwhile, Nine more bodies were recovered on Tuesday, taking the death toll from Sunday evening’s floods in Rikkos, Gangere and Angwan Rogo areas of Jos North  to 47,  while the number of displaced persons hit 3,000.

The acting Zonal Coordinator for North Central of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mohammed Abdulsalam, who confirmed the account, said that the nine bodies were “pulled out of the rubble of caved in buildings on Monday evening”.

According to him, more casualties would have been recorded if some residents had not relocated to the homes of friends in other parts of the local government. He further said over 200 houses were destroyed.

“So far we have 47 persons confirmed dead and about 36 still missing. We have over 3,000 people in displaced camps and the immediate concern is to give them some comfort by providing relief materials” he said.

The NEMA chief added that searches were still on  to find those reported missing  by their families.