Its commerce has won many over, but there is one thing Enyimba City has not conquered: flooding. SUNNY NWANKWO reports on the deluge that swamped Aba
In a room in one apartment you could only see a few inches of the backrest of a plastic chair sticking out of the water. Everything else was underwater except for some half-submerged weighty household items placed on the chair in the hope that they would be safe from the flood. They were not.
Aba may be Abia State’s commercial nerve, crawling with irrepressible business people and ingenious fabricators, but it is also notorious for its floods. Such is the flood disaster that the late Chief Sam Mbakwe in his days as governor of old Imo State, of which Abia was once a part, wept as he stood before then President Shehu Shagari. He needed federal government’s intervention. Decades after, Aba is still troubled by its old watery enemy.
Enyimba city in the last one month has witnessed persistent rains, sometimes so heavy that most parts of the city would be flooded, making human and vehicular traffic extremely difficult.
Sunday, July 23, was one of the days when many residents of the economic and business-oriented city wished never came. It was the day many residents of the three most crucial local governments: Osisioma, Aba North and South at the heart of the commercial city, experienced for the first time this year what they described as one disaster too many. It was a day flood sacked over 100 families from their homes and damaged property worth several millions of naira.
While the residents hope for some relief in the “August break”, some have called on the authorities to fix the flooding menace in their areas in order to save their homes and properties. One of the people affected by the flood was the wife of a former military administrator of Cross River State Mrs Rosemary Archibong. She appealed to Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, NEMA and other relevant bodies in charge of addressing flooding issues in Abia to intervene to save their properties.
Mrs Archibong in a telephone interview with our correspondent said her residence was still flooded days after the Sunday downpour. She said that the persistent flooding of her street and apartment has forced her tenants and many residents on the street to vacate, adding that the problem could cause more harm if not urgently checked.
He husband died last year.
She said, “This house is what I am left with and I can’t afford it because of flood, which has been a regular occurrence whenever it rains. I know that the issue of flooding will be solved and that is why I am appealing that the state government and those responsible should come to our aid to fix this problem once and for all.”
Other residents of Aba also affected by the flood are counting losses which they suffered in the torrential rain that has left them homeless.
The Nation gathered that residents of Amucha by Ohanku and Ibadan Street off Ngwa Road, Ama Ogbonna, Dike Street by Garden Avenue, Off Okigwe Road, Ekeakpara and other parts of North and South Local Government Areas of the state were the worst hit.
Unconfirmed reports from Ngwa Road have it that about three children were reportedly swept away by the water and were not seen at the time of filing this report.
Some of the displaced persons who spoke to our reporter appealed to the state governor, Abia State Emergency Management Agency (ASEMA) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to come to their aid as they were yet to recover from the shock of the flood.
A resident of Agalaba Street in Osisioma Local Government Area, Comrade Charles Alili narrating the incident to our reporter where he was taking refuge with his family, said, “By 7am in the morning (Sunday), while we still waking up from sleep, we heard a loud sound. We thought it was thunder, but in less than five minutes, the whole compound was filled with water.
“We later found out that the fence demarcating our house from the other side failed and the water from Ekeakpara zone of Osisioma that couldn’t find its exit route because the gutter was blocked, emptied into our compound.
“The whole flats in our compound were submerged and what we quickly did was to evacuate about 16 children that were in the compound when the incident happened. An aged woman of about 80years was equally taken away with the help of neighbours who came to our rescue. Our properties including cars were not left out. No life was lost, but property worth millions of naira was damaged. No one can make use of any property in his or house again because the water was above window level. No cloth to wear to market and school and as it stands; we are yet to think of what to do. We are appealing to NEMA and ASEMA to come to our aid. We are just like refugees in our own state.”
A resident of Amucha by Ohanku, off Ngwa Road that simply gave his name as Nkemakolam disclosed that the damage the rain dealt on Aba South residents were running into millions. This is even as he stated that many residents of Amucha and Umuogele as at 10am “this morning was still trapped in their residents”.
Nkemakolam said, “The embankment which has been built by house owners over the years as a palliative to stop rain from entering their houses collapsed during the heavy rain on Sunday, causing many houses to submerge. We even learnt that some people are looking for their children as we speak. The damage by the rain is severe and we want government to come to our aid because the damage is too much for us to bear.
