At about 3am on Wednesday, Uzoma Chukwu woke up to a frightening sight.
Water had entered his home and was rapidly rising.
By the time daylight came, the flood had submerged houses, destroyed household belongings and cut off movement in parts of Akaeze and neighbouring communities in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
For Chukwu and scores of other residents, there was little time to salvage their belongings.
‘Since I was born, I have never experienced this type of flood,’ one of the residents said, describing the volume of water as unprecedented in the community.
The flood, which followed heavy rainfall that began on Tuesday, has displaced no fewer than 134 families, according to an assessment by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State.
Rice, yam, potato and other farmlands were submerged, while houses, furniture, bedding, phones and other household possessions were either damaged or completely swept away.
At Amaegbu Umobo, Akaeze, community Chinyere Irem, a farmer said more than 54 victims had already been identified, with several families left without habitable homes.
Among them is Ochude Chukwu, whose residence, popularly known as Udensi House, was pulled down by the flood.
His rice farm and other family property were also destroyed.
With the house no longer habitable, Chukwu said he had been forced to relocate with his wife and three children.
‘I am calling on the government to come and help us and rescue my family from this situation,’ he pleaded.
For Irem, the flood has also brought substantial economic losses.
He said the water destroyed his wife’s belongings, bed, chairs and telephone, while his rice, potato and other crops were also submerged.
Irem, a farmer, estimated his losses at between N8 million and N20 million, stressing that the damage to his farmland was particularly devastating.
‘My rice, yam, my potato, everything was covered by the water,’ he said, appealing to the government for assistance.
The impact was not limited to homes and farms.
Okechukwu Uwaezioke said the flood paralysed vehicular and human movement around Ivo Agbaleka and adjoining communities, while the Ivo Market was also inundated.
‘Even in the market, water entered inside. People from other villages could not come to the market. We need government help,’ he said.
Okpe Favour Chidinma said more than 20 houses were affected in her community, forcing some displaced families to seek alternative accommodation.
The affected communities include Amaegbu Umobo, Umuewodo Ndiachi Umuobo Akaeze and Umuezaka Ezeukwu Akaeze, among others.
As residents count their losses, the immediate response has come from the opposition PDP, whose Chukwuma Igwe, the state chairman, led a delegation to the affected communities on Thursday.
Igwe said Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, the party’s 2027 governorship candidate, had released N5 million for immediate assistance to victims.
According to him, N2 million would be deployed to support affected residents in Akaeze, while the remaining N3 million would be used in other communities after further assessment.
He said the party had so far documented about 134 affected families in Akaeze, with the figure expected to increase as assessments continue in other locations.
‘My people, I’m not happy. I don’t have to hide it. It’s a thing of tears that this kind of thing can happen at this time,’ Igwe said.
But he stressed that the party’s intervention could only provide temporary relief, insisting that the major responsibility for disaster response rested with government.
‘We are not in government yet. Our own is to condole with you and sympathise with you. The main intervention is supposed to come from the government,’ he said.
Igwe said the party would also draw the attention of the Federal Government and relevant agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency, to the plight of the affected residents.
Darlington Onwe, PDP spokesman in Ebonyi, described the incident as a major humanitarian disaster, saying the scale of the destruction required more than immediate relief.
According to him, affected families would need support to rebuild their homes, restore their agricultural livelihoods and recover from the economic losses caused by the disaster.
Felix Ogbonna Igboke, the PDP House of Representatives candidate for Ohanivo Federal Constituency, who was part of the delegation, said the visit was undertaken on Odii’s directive to assess the extent of the damage and provide immediate assistance.
For the residents, however, relief from the immediate hardship is only one part of the problem.
With farms destroyed and homes rendered uninhabitable, many fear that the consequences of the flood will extend beyond the initial disaster.
They are therefore calling on the Ebonyi and Federal governments to provide relief materials and emergency assistance, while undertaking a technical assessment of the affected communities to determine what is driving the flooding.
For families now sleeping outside their homes or seeking temporary accommodation, the appeal is straightforward: they want help to survive the immediate crisis and measures that will prevent them from facing the same disaster again.