No fewer than 60 houses have been destroyed, while about 300 residents have been displaced, following a flood that ravaged Amaegbu community in Akaeze, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The disaster, which began on Tuesday, also destroyed farmlands and property worth millions of naira, leaving many residents, including children, homeless.
One of the victims, Chief Michael Uzor, told journalists that the flood washed away his farmlands, television sets, vehicles, certificates, and other valuables.
‘Many houses were demolished in this axis and more houses are collapsing as a result of the flooding. In this particular place, Ndi Ibezeukwu, over 20 houses have fallen down since Tuesday this disaster started,’ he said.
Uzor appealed to the government at all levels to urgently come to the assistance of the affected residents, saying many families had been rendered homeless by the disaster.
Another victim, Mrs Joy Chikezie, said the number of houses destroyed in her area could not be ascertained due to the scale of the devastation.
‘As you can see, many houses are down here. You can’t count the number of houses that have been destroyed by this disaster. We are homeless now and our farmlands have been destroyed too. The losses are enormous. We are sad, we are helpless, we need assistance,’ she lamented.
The Secretary of Amaegbu community, Prince Ette, said more than 50 houses had been demolished in the community, calling for urgent intervention to alleviate the suffering of the victims.
‘We are devastated, we are in pains because the damage the flood caused us is much. Some people didn’t salvage any item from the disaster,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has expressed concern over the disaster and donated N5 million to the affected residents.
Odii, who was represented by the state Chairman of the party, Chief Chukwuma Igwe, made the donation during a visit to the community, saying it was intended to cushion the impact of the disaster on affected families.
‘We came to tell you that what happened to you also happened to us; we are all affected by this disaster.
‘We have over 54 families affected by this disaster in this axis, and we know that there are other families in other places in the community also affected.
‘Our principal, Chief Ifeanyi Odii has given us this token to give to you people, to show you that what happened to you, also happened to him. He will do more for you,’ he assured.
Also speaking, the PDP candidate for Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo Federal Constituency, Chief Felix Igboke, described the flood as unfortunate and said improved drainage and other environmental measures would be needed to address the problem.
He promised that, if elected, he would prioritise better drainage infrastructure and other environmental solutions to reduce the impact of flooding in the area.