Flood rendered alot homeless and destroyed churches in Rivers

RESIDENTS have been sacked from their houses by flood in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following weekend’s downpour.

In Rumuolumeni community, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, there was panic, following the flood that submerged over 100 homes and four churches in the area.

The downpour which lasted two days in the state also took over Afam Road, some parts of Trans Amadi Road, which is under construction. Several other parts of the state capital were also flooded.

At press time, the state office of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has also been taken over by the flood waters with some vehicles parked in the premises submerged.

Residents of Rumuuokalogbo area of Port Harcourt, at press time, were battling with the flood in the area, as property worth millions of naira were destroyed as a result the down pour on Saturday and yesterday.

Vanguard learned that church services could not hold at several worship centres in the area yesterday, due to the flood compounded by a blocked canal in the area.

Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike, who went round Port Harcourt yesterday, sympathised with families displaced by the flood, promising that his government will take hard decisions to address the flood problem.

At press time, it was still raining heavily. Mr. Inyesoemi Benibo, whose home was flooded, noted that several property belonging to churches and residents in the area were destroyed in the flood.

He blamed the flood on failure of the company that handled the Rumuolumeni-Iwofe Road project to properly channel water into the canal.

Benibo expressed worries that residents of the area had approached the company and complained that the drainage was not properly handled, noting that a blockade of the drainage which obstructed the free flow of water led to the flooding.

He said: “We have been rendered homeless by the flood. My families slept inside a church far from this place while I slept inside my car. Even one of my neighbours has not been seen since last night when we saw him parking his property and at that time his family moved to another place. Nobody knows what has happened to him.

“The company is responsible for all this suffering. I remember we called them when they were constructing Iwofe Road which even attracted the attention of Governor Wike who even ordered them to canalize that area properly, but they did not listen. Now, the canal has been blocked and the water is not flowing.”

Also, a cleric in the area, Pastor Namso Udoh, said that since the construction of the Rumuolumeni-Iwofe Road, the area has always been experiencing flooding.

He called on the state government to intervene and save the residents of Rumuolumeni from losing all they have laboured for.