Several communities across the country are counting their losses to floods. For some, it is simply unquantifiable, especially where lives are involved, report Bisi Olaniyi, Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Chris Oji and Nicholas Kalu
East-West road threatened as Rivers residents count losses
IN other climes, there are wet and dry seasons but it is not so in the Niger Delta. The dry season spell experienced between December and March in other parts of the country is alien to residents of the oil-rich region.
In Rivers State, the near absence of dry season has made construction, especially road, very difficult in the Southsouth state with a swampy terrain.
This year, the devastating effects of the torrential rainfall have been felt by all. At the mercy of the floods is the strategic and ever-busy East-West Road.
The road starts from Oron, in Akwa Ibom State, runs through Ogoniland in Rivers State to Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ogun, terminating in Lagos State.
The contracts for the dualisation of the Warri to Port Harcourt stretch of the road were initially awarded to Setraco Construction Company (Warri-Kaiama) and Julius Berger Construction Company (Kaiama-Port Harcourt).
Prior to the introduction of the amnesty programme in 2009 by the Federal Government for demilitarised Niger Delta youths, Julius Berger officials, mostly expatriates, were frequently kidnapped in exchange for ransom.
When the kidnappings became unbearable, the firm was forced to abandon the job. Messrs Setraco was subsequently hired to take over the road. But the company is overwhelmed by the enormity of the work to be done. Already, agitated Niger Delta residents are complaining about the slow pace of implementation.
The firm had started asphalt overlay from the Warri end and sand filling from the Rivers axis before the floods took a debilitating toll on its programme. Portions of the road are being washed away around the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and from Emohua to Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas.
Villagers told The Nation that floods remain the major threat to the project, which maynot be completed by the December 2014 completion date.
The mostly affected areas in the Garden City are: Ada-George, Diobu and Ogbogoro. Two Diobu residents – Mercy Apia and George Otelemaba, blamed it all on poor drainage.
Residents of Ada-George and Ogbogoro will have to live with the incessant flooding for more weeks, considering the ongoing dualisation and reconstruction of the roads.
But the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led administration is not folding its arms. Its intervention is making the after-effects of the floods in Rivers State a child’s play, considering the tales on the lips of residents in other parts of the country.
The governor has mandated the contractors handling road projects across the state to provide covered drains and service ducts.
Communities sacked, farmlands washed away in Abia
In Abia State, floods have sacked many from their homes and washed away hectares of farmlands.
One of the affected communities is Umuaku in Umunneochi Local Government Area where the floods destroyed multi-million naira property, including perimeter wall fence of buildings.
They include the walls of Jacob Achara Methodist Church that were pulled down and several other buildings that were submerged. Hundreds of farmers were sent on forced break from their farmlands.
But residents alleged the on-going construction of the Mbala Isuochi road blocked the natural water path.
Also counting their losses are residents of Ohanku road in the commercial city of Aba. Many of them have been sent on vacation from their houses, which are either submerged or have their access washed away.
At least 20 houses have been abandoned by tenants, who lost the battle to prevent them from being flooded. Some of the residents said that their problem started when the firm rehabilitating the road, allegedly blocked the underground drainage collecting storm water to Aba River.
They argued that rather than maintain the original level of the road, the firm raised some sections, a development they alleged was responsible for the flooding of the area.
The residents also alleged that the contractor, consciously and unconsciously, blocked the drainage with stone chippings, which they discovered as they tried to de-silt the channel as part of their communal effort to remediate the situation.
The flood, which has divided the road into two, has created an emergency terminal for vehicles from Ngwa at a distance while the others from the Ohanku end has to make a detour before AmuonichaAmucha.
With the water level still high for residents to wade through, pedestrians now circumvent the affected area through the adjoining premises.
At the Akoli –Ohanku junction where the underground drainage is believed to have been blocked, buildings on both sides of the road have been partially submerged. Nduka Ukpabi, an affected landlord in the area, lamented that all his tenants have packed out.
At Umuaku, an affected cleric, Rev. John Nkemakolam said: “We have never experienced a flood of this magnitude. It pulled down fences and water levels inside people’s rooms were as high as six feet. We have lost a fortune, individually and collectively, but glory be to God, no death has been recorded so far.”
Abia State Deputy Governor Emeka Ananaba, who, on behalf of his boss, Governor Theodore Orji, visited the area for an on-the-spot assessment, expressed shock at the extent of the damage wreaked by the floods.
He, however, assured the people of the government’s quick intervention to alleviate their suffering.
“The government will come to your aid soon,” Ananaba told a cross-section of residents in Umuaku.
He said that the state would approach the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) for possible assistance, not just to victims in Umuaku but to help the government tackle the menace of erosion across the state.
Beyond the climate change, the flooding of the two Abia communities was aggravated by the blockage of collector drains by contruction firms.
From Kogi with tears
Sacked from their homes in Kogi State by floods, 5,000 residents Elele, Ekanyi, Obale and Affa communities in Analo Ward of Ibaji Local Government Area have relocated to neighbouring Idah Local Government Area of the state and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State to seek refuge.
Most residents of Ekanyi, Obale and Affa succeeded in crossing over to Enugu boundary communities of Ogurugu, Ojjor and Iggah in Uzo-Uwani council at the weekend.
They crossed over to safety on wooden canoes through the Mabolo River, also known as Ofu, leaving their property which had been completely submerged in water.
There were also reports that the people of Elele, Odobo, Nwajala and Ejule, whose communities were submerged early last week, have all relocated to Idah.
Man, from Odeke community, in Ibaji council area relocated to Iggah community in Enugu State.
It was learnt that they live like refugees with many of them residing in primary school buildings.
Though, some good-spirited Iggah indigenes have vacated their houses accommodate their fellow-countrymen, some victims still face difficulties.
Residents of Ekanyi and Affa natives have been moving to Ogurugu since last weekend. The community has become home to victims, including the aged and children.
Fears of possible outbreak of epidemic are rife since most of the victims pass the night in open spaces.
The chairman of Ibaji Local Government Area, Mr. Dave Ogwu, lamented that greater parts of his council had been deserted because of the flood, which according to him, has destroyed many houses, property, farmlands and crops worth several billions of naira.
He called on relief agencies to assist the victims who have been turned into refugees in neighbouring Enugu State. The call became necessary and urgent because the calamity, he said, is beyond what his council could shoulder.
According to Ogwu, Governor Idris Wada, who has visited Idah, was due at the emergency camp created in Enugu State yesterday.
Officials of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, led by the Chairman, Mr. Cornel Onwubuya who visited the border communities to assess the situation on Sunday, expressed concern over the large number of refuge-seeking Ibaji people.
The council chief and a community leader, Chief Maximus Ukwuta, who led the team, urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relief agencies to quickly come to the rescue.
He listed shelter, food, drugs and clothings as the victims’ urgent needs.
The Red Cross Society said it had received reports of the victims’ crisis in Uzo-Uwani council and had briefed its Enugu office to act quickly.
Communities in Cross
River in tears
Though Cross River is among the states listed by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) to prepare for heavy rains and flooding, the intensity of the disaster could not in any way be compared to what was experiened the previous years.
According to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), more than 42, 000 residents have been displaced by the flood this year.
The worst hit local government areas are: Obubra, Ogoja, Yala, Ikom, Abi, Biase, Odukpani, Boki, Obudu and Obanliku.
It is difficult to see the displaced persons in one rehabilitation camp as they are promptly accommodated by families and friends in adjoining, communities.
A SEMA official said the hospitable nature of the people has, to a great extent, aided them in coping with the situation.
In Yala, Mr Gabriel Ogar, who is accommodating a family whose house was flooded, said: “Well, this thing can happen to anybody. So, we have to open our hands to help our brothers and sisters.”
So far, 11 deaths have been recorded this year, according to SEMA.
In Adim in Biase, a nine-month-old baby, Godswill Echu Okon, was reportedly killed when a residential building collapsed on him. The collapse was caused by flooding. In Agwagwune, in the same Biase council, two 12-year-olds were allegedly swept away.
As of the last count, about 49 persons have been hospitalised from flood-induced injuries.
More than 4000 farmers have also been affected with about 106, 000 hectares of farmland washed away. Yams, cassava, cocoyam, melon, rice and vegetables, among others, have been destroyed.
The Nation learnt that about 1059 houses have been destroyed, especially in the rural areas where they were built with mud bricks.
One of the most famous tourism sites in the state, Buanchor Drill Ranch and Canopy Walk in Boki, has been rendered inaccessible by the floods. The bridges and culverts on the road have all been swept away.
The disaster, which came in the aftermath of a down pour that lasted for about three days, also affected six villages where no fewer than 80 houses were swept away and 3000 farmlands destroyed.
At the end of the three-day downpour, about 10000 residents either became homeless, or incapacitated economically.
Tourists who were on tour of the Buanchor Drill Ranch and Canopy Walk as at that time were trapped.
The about-30-metre high Buanchor Canopy Walkway, located in the heart of the virgin forest of Boki, is the longest in Africa. The Drill Ranch is for the protection of Drill Monkeys, an endangered animal species which attract hundreds of tourists on monthly basis.
The situation is a major blow to tourism, the mainstay of Cross River’s economy.
In Agwagwune, Biase council, women and children live under inhuman conditions with no potable water, food and medication.
The villages in the area could only be accessed by the use of canoes through forest, invested with reptiles and dangerous animals.
Speaking in Egbism village on his canoe, Mr. Ekuma Bassey, lamented that the flood was the first of its kind in more than a decade.
He lamented that he and his family had no place to live in as they could not raise the rent for apartment in the city centre.
Bassey lamented that they could no longer eat cooked food, as all the water sources in the area have been poluted.
He said: “Now, we eat only bread which we have to buy from the neighbouring community. We cannot use firewood here. We cannot use kerosene. We are suffering. Please help us.”
Bassey lamented that market and schools have been submerged, creating both economic and social problems.
Okpandin, a village in Yala Local Government Area, was completely sacked.
Mr. Cyprian Idim, a resident of the community, said: “We have no access to that village again and the people had to be evacuated to other villages. There is no access to that village again. Water has surrounded the village.”
Expressing regret that their farmland had been washed away, he said: “We have no other occupation than farming.”
Compounding matters was the recent release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. The water released from the dam affected Yala, Ogoja, Ikom, Obubra, Abi, Biase and Odukpani council areas.
SEMA’s Director-General Vincent Aquah expressed the fear that the magnitude and severity of the damage to lives and property would increase as the flood level rises.
According to him, apart from the expected extreme famine as a result of the destruction of farmlands, accommodation would become a problem as many are already relocating to make shift shelters.
“These conditions are far below human standard particularly living in a slum such as this thatch house. Children and women are suffering and there is an urgent need to address the situation before it gets out of hand,” he said.
He appealed to the Federal Government and international organisations to assist the government in cushioning the effects of the floods.
Aquah said sensitisation campaigns have been flagged of in all the coaster communities to advise residents of flood-prone communities to relocate to higher planes.
