No fewer than 200 persons have been killed by a dangerous heatwave that has enveloped the city of Yola, the Adamawa State Capital of northern Nigeria.
According to reports, the city witnessed a humid heatwave between the 1st to 13th of May 2024.
DAILY TRUST reports that residents complained about a combination of high temperatures and relatively humid air. Which caused an approximate 47 to 50 degrees centigrade in the temperature of the State Capital.
Some analyst who spoke on the dangerous heatwave, described the temperature of being at a danger level. They maintained that such could cause high risk of heat cramps and exhaustion.
“Unofficial records at the Yola Cemetery Corporation (YCC), located in Damare area of the capital city, put the death toll from the unusually experienced excessive heat from May 1 to 13, 2024 at 400,” DAILY TRUST reported.
According to the report, a former Permanent Secretary who was one of the eyewitnesses described the temperature as abnormal.
He said: “I think 400 could have been a slight exaggeration. But surely, the number of people who died in these circumstances was as high as 200.
“At some point, up to 20 deaths were being recorded per day within that period,” he said.
But according to DAILY TRUST, many people stated that such unusual heat-waves were a seasonal occurrence in Yola and some other parts of Adamawa State. They, however, described this year’s heatwave as excessive.
“Even people who are up to 80 years of age said they had not experienced the excessive heatwaves as witnessed this year.”
Damare told DAILY TRUST that during her visit to the cemetery on Thursday, some attendants confirmed the many deaths. She said she was told that an average of 35 bodies were taken for burial at the facility within the time under review.
Members of the YCC, Halliru Jauro Usman and Musa Umar, who spoke on the development, attributed the increased deaths to the hot weather.
Umar, however, pointed that those mostly affected were the elderly, aged between 50 and 70 years.
Speaking on the number of deaths from the heatwave, Umar said, “The actual number of deaths could be as high as 300 or even 400. And this is between May 1 to 13, considering the number recorded daily.”
He, therefore, added that the cemetery needed to be expanded in order to contain more dead bodies.
Another member of the YCC, Usman, said people from numerous parts of Yola brought their dead ones to the cemetery.
Speaking on the heatwave, a consultant at the Modibbo Adama Teaching Hospital (MAUTH), Yola, described the development to high temperature witnessed in the city.
He stated that the surge in deaths in the city could be attributed to high temperature. He pointed that the heatwave led to high level of infections affecting mostly the elderly.
The consultant, however, expressed shock at the rate of the deaths. He said the hospital had never recorded such a high number of deaths before.
The consultant stated that high temperature could lead to dehydration, and measles. He also said it could lead to septicemia – also known as sepsis – the most extreme response of a person’s body to an infection.
The Head of Adamawa Epidemiology, Damba Kwenke, had earlier described the death toll as a rumour. But an investigation team he dispatched confirmed the rising deaths as a consequence of the heat-waves.
Kwenke later urged for vigilance from members of the public. He, however, assured that the State Government would manage the situation.
According to him, the public health threats would be taken seriously. He, therefore, promised to enhance more surveillance to investigate the issue further.
The Ward head of Damare Community, Ismaila Muhammed Barkindo, also spoke on the development to Daily Trust Saturday on Thursday, He said the community has not experienced a staggering death toll within a short time as this since 1976.
He stated that many people are attributing the occurrences of the deaths to high temperature.
Barkindo, however, recalled that in similar circumstance in 1976, people had to find a way to survive. He stated that most of the people resorted to digging holes under bridges next to rivers. That was in a bid to find cold places due to the extreme heat.
He maintained that in the last few weeks, temperatures went beyond 45 degrees in the early morning hours in Yola.
Barkindo stated that most of those who died recently did not exhibit any symptom prior to their demise.
“In some cases, people died suddenly. Without any prior sign of distress or illness,” he said.
Speaking on the volume of the deaths, Barkindo said the Damare cemetery was almost filled. “At a point, the Committee set up to handle the deaths, contemplated closing it,” he said.
He said the YCC officials were currently considering opening a new cemetery in either Yolde Pate or Mbamba community due to the increased number of deaths.
source: Daily Trust
