Flood displaces 200 families in Rivers community

Over 200 families in the Rumaholu-Nkpolu Pipeline Area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have been displaced by flooding, PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday.

This is as the residents said snakes and other reptiles were surfacing as a result of the severe flooding which had destroyed property in their homes.

The affected residenrs said they had first experienced such flooding in 2017 after some people allegedly built property on the waterways.

Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday, one of the affected residents named Thomas said whenever the floods occurred, they would spend about seven months outside their homes every year waiting for the water to recede, saying this year, they fled their homes immediately after seeing snakes coming out of the water.

He stated, “If you follow me now into each house that had been abandoned, you will find about six snakes.

“During the night, if you don’t have any torchlight especially while coming down from the staircase, you will see snakes. Sometimes, almost we step on the snakes and that is why most of us ran away.”

A female resident who pleaded anonymity blamed the development on property owners who built houses on canals and called on the state government to come to their aid.

“We are calling on the Rivers State Government to help build an underground drainage in this area. We use boats to paddle into our houses,” she explained tearfully.

She also lamented that following their absence from their homes because of the flooding, hoodlums had invaded their homes and looted property, noting that the state government should assist them in tackling the root causes of the flooding to enable them to return to their homes.

She stated, “We left the house and locked the place. But before we came back, they looted everything from my house. We are just starting all over again.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Landlords Association at Rumaholu-Nkpolu, Pipeline Area, Kalu Chukwuma, called on the Rivers State Government to implement the recommendations of the Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning put together a few years ago.

Chukwuma also advised that the water should be properly channelled to the right canals in line with recommendations.

He stated, “Check for yourself, you can see many houses, even storey buildings affected. Though this area was well planned, unfortunately, nobody knew what happened.

“Maybe, some areas have been blocked without us knowing because this was not happening until 2017.

“Let the government help us maybe to open up the place or channel the water to another area. The worst is that when the level of water is high, it starts coming from the ground with snakes.

“We have taken some people to hospitals especially our neighbours who don’t have anybody to help them.”