By David Odama

LAFIA — NO fewer than six houses were submerged, several families, shops with properties estimated at millions of naira were on Saturday destroyed in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital.

The destruction followed the torrential rainfall over the night resulting in the submergence of several houses, rendering many families homeless.

Shops were not spared as many properties were affected in the flooding that caused havoc in the area.

Speaking to journalists shortly after monitoring this month’s environmental sanitation in Lafia, director of environment in the state’s ministry of environment, Abubakar Muhammed attributed the flooding to poor environmental observation by the residents.

Muhammed who disclosed that the state government has put in measures to mitigate flooding in the state lamented that despite several warnings issued on the danger of blocking drainages, residents were still dumping refused on the waterways.

According to him, the ministry has commenced demolition of houses built on waterways adding that over 25 houses have been demolished in the state

The director of environment said the demolition became necessary following failure of some residents to heed to government’s warning to desist from building structures in waterways considering the probe nature of the state and its devastating effects.

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He said that with Nasarawa placed number 26 out of 30 States to experience flooding by NIMET’s prediction for this year, efforts had been intensified to check the trend as the demolition of illegal structures was ongoing in Lafia, Akwanga and Karu local government areas to give ways for water passage.

Mohammed who visited U. A. C. Road in Lafia metropolis where more than six shops and residential houses were submerged following a heavy downpour, as a result of indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways by residents of the area, announced that over 27 persons were arrested and prosecuted by the mobile court for violation of the monthly environmental sanitation in the state.

Vanguard News Nigeria