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dam-l Flooding from dams in Nigeria/LS

Flooding from dams in Nigeria has taken many hundreds of lives since the
end of Sept. Sorry for cross postings.

FOCUS-Dozens die,thousands displaced in Nigeria flood  03:24 p.m Oct 07,
1999 Eastern

MINNA, Nigeria, Oct 7 (Reuters) - New floods have killed dozens of people
and displaced thousands in northern Nigeria after three hydroelectric dams
released water following heavy rain, local officials said on Thursday.

They said tens of thousands of people had left their homes on the affected
Niger and Kaduna rivers. Local people said the death toll could be as high
as 300, a claim denied by officials of the state-owned National Electric
Power Authority (NEPA).

``There has been a new wave of flooding since Tuesday as the dams released
more water,'' an official of the worst-hit Niger state told reporters in
the capital Minna.

``We don't have full details of casualties but dozens of people have died
and many thousands displaced,'' he added, blaming NEPA, which operates the
dams, for the disaster.

Local people estimate that more than 300 people may have drowned since NEPA
opened the sluice gates of the Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro dams to let out
water following the heaviest rains in 30 years in northern Nigeria.

But a senior NEPA official defended the authority's decision to release
water from the dams, and denied claims that up to 300 people had died.

``We've given ample notice since August that excess water will be released
and warned local people to leave the river banks,'' he told Reuters by
phone from Abuja.

``Besides, we are not aware that up to 300 people have died and have seen
no evidence to support the claim,'' he added.

Officials of Niger state said NEPA had written to the government on Sunday
to warn of a likely spill of the brimming Shiroro dam and that communities
settled on the banks of the Kaduna River should evacuate immediately.

NEPA also said communities downstream from the three main dams, which
provide much of the electricity of Africa's most populous country of 108
million, were told when they were being constructed not to settle on the
course of the river flood basin.

``The Presidency has already been informed of the situation,'' another NEPA
official said.

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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