PERSISTENT RAINFALL SUBMERGES HOUSES, FARMLANDS IN ANAMBRA COMMUNITIES
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Many houses and farmlands in flood-prone communities of Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area and Ifite-Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State have been submerged following persistent rainfall across the affected areas.
Residents displaced by the flooding said the heavy rains recorded on Sunday and Monday left families stranded and forced many to seek refuge in safer upland areas while calling on the state government for urgent intervention.
The flooding, which has become a recurring challenge in the communities, disrupted economic activities, destroyed property and raised fears among residents over worsening environmental conditions.
Several structures, including the headquarters of a Pentecostal church, were reportedly damaged by the flood, while goods, documents and household valuables were destroyed.
Residents along St. John Street in Ifite-Awka were seen evacuating damaged property from flooded homes, while affected residents in Ogidi struggled to remove water from their houses and business premises.
Many of the residents blamed the flooding on poor town planning, indiscriminate construction and weak enforcement of building regulations by the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority.
According to them, developers had built structures on natural waterways, obstructing drainage channels and worsening flooding during heavy rainfall.
The District Head of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Ifite-Awka, Rev. Sam Ufo, said the church auditorium and premises were among the worst-hit by the disaster.
He disclosed that musical instruments, amplifiers, electronic equipment and church records were destroyed by the flood.
“Although the church had experienced flooding in the past, the magnitude of Sunday night’s disaster was unprecedented since the church moved into this area,” he said.
Ufo alleged that some developers blocked waterways originally designed to channel floodwater into nearby canals, thereby worsening the perennial flooding in the community.
He appealed to the state and local governments to recover blocked drainage channels and restore the natural waterways.
Also speaking, the Chairman of St. John Street, Uzo Umejiege, warned that continued flooding could eventually lead to loss of lives if urgent measures were not taken.
“One of the major causes of this challenge is the topography of the area. Our street is usually the worst hit because it is located at the lower end of the slope,” he said.
He called on the government to construct a larger drainage system capable of handling runoff from surrounding parts of Ifite-Awka.
In Ogidi, residents staged a peaceful protest on Monday to demand urgent intervention over the recurring floods affecting roads, homes, businesses and farmlands.
The President of Ogidi Youths, Chris Obi-Okafor, described the situation as a growing humanitarian crisis, saying economic trees and farmlands had been destroyed while movement within the community had become increasingly difficult.
He added that school children were also being affected, as flooding often prevented them from attending classes during heavy rainfall.
Obi-Okafor appealed to both the Federal Government and the Anambra State Government to urgently provide lasting solutions to the crisis.
The traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Alexander Onyido, also pledged continued engagement with the government to seek immediate intervention to prevent loss of lives and further destruction.
An elderly farmer in the community, Ndidi Nwacha, lamented that the flood had destroyed her yam and cassava farms despite taking loans to invest in farming this year.
“I borrowed some money at a high interest rate to invest in large-scale farming this year,” she said.
When contacted, officials of the Anambra State Ministry of Environment said the government was aware of the flooding challenges and had intensified drainage clearing, desilting of waterways and public sensitisation efforts aimed at mitigating the crisis.
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