The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed the death of one person in Friday’s flood incident in Ondo town, Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The director-general of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, stated this on Tuesday while assessing the level of damage in the ancient city.

Torrential rainfall in Ondo town on Friday led to flash floods, with houses and vehicles submerged.

“We have seen it, and we have done rapid assessment, and we will see how we can collaborate with other agencies to see how we can assist further.

“It is very unfortunate that we lost one person. My advice is that people of Ondo should clear their waterways and support the government,” she said.

Ms Umar said it was worrisome that despite earlier forecasts by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), there could still be victims of flooding.

According to her, there is a need to clear waterways and stop hindering the free movement of water.

The NEMA DG added that the flood situation was expected to persist until the end of November, asking state and local governments to allocate resources and support communities.

She promised that NEMA would provide necessary assistance and continue collaborating with the state government and other stakeholders to restore normalcy and ensure that people recover from the devastating incident.

The DG earlier paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Governor Olayide Adelami and Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Victor Kiladejo.

(NAN)