Mother of three, other killed as flood ravages Anambra community

A mother of three and one other person have been killed in a flood disaster that occurred at Ugwu Mkpume Layout, Achalla Agu community in Nkpor Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The victims were said to be asleep when the flood suddenly broke into their various apartments, swept them away and they were found dead in another location.

Our correspondent who visited the area on Saturday, gathered that the flooding was caused by the over 11-hour rains that fell on Thursday till in the early hours of Friday.

Many buildings in the area were submerged while properties estimated to be worth millions of naira were destroyed as well as farmlands washed away by the flood.

Our correspondent also observed that the flood covered the whole area while some families living on the first floors of some storey-buildings were trapped as the flood submerged their houses.

Some of the residents and victims who spoke to our correspondent in separate interviews alleged that the development was worsened because the construction firm(name withheld) working on a road near the area channelled waters into their community instead of channelling it to the River Niger.

The Vice President, Ugwu Mkpume Achalla Agu Landlords’ Association, Ifeanyi Oghota,  described the incident as unfortunate, lamenting that the good intentions of the state government in constructing roads, has “turned to sorrow due to wrong channelling of the flood” by the construction company that handled the road project at Inland doors  Nkpor-Umuoji Road.

Oghota said, “The damage is regrettable. We have not witnessed this type of flood in our community in 25 years. It is regrettable what the bad work of the construction company has caused to us and we appealed to the state government to come to our aid.”

One of the landlords in the area identified as Dr Alex, who spoke to our correspondent on the development said, “This is what we woke up to see on Friday morning. The floods caused by the heavy rains on Thursday broke into our houses and damaged properties and farmlands. I am a pig farmer, it swept away my pigs.

“The floods pulled down many fences and walls. It also broke into a building where a family of five were living. The flood entered their apartment while they were asleep, and carried the mother and her three children away, their father managed to escape it. It was in the morning that residents saw the lifeless body of the woman.

“The bodies of the three children were also found somewhere else in another location, fortunately, they were still alive as of the time they were found and they were quickly rushed to the emergency unit at the Royal Hospital, Nkpor, where they are recovering.

“A lifeless body of another yet-to-be-identified man was also found in the flood. He must have also been swept away from his compound to that place. The losses as a result of the flood are very devastating and heartbroken. Houses were submerged and properties were destroyed. We have never experienced this type in the last 25 years.

“It is caused by the construction firm that channelled floods coming from Ogidi, Umunachi, Eke Nkpor and Obosi to the layout that has no Sacamori that can accommodate such heavy flood instead of channelling it to the River Niger. The Member representing the community in the House has been notified and the community has been asked to write a letter of complaint and send it to Awka, we expect the relevant authorities to look into this situation.”

Also adding their voices, other residents and victims, including Dr Alex Okonkwo, Peter Nwakudo and Rose Enemchukwu, said that they had not witnessed this type of flood in the area in the 25 years that they packed into the community.

They also expressed sadness over the loss of a mother of three and the emergency condition of her three children who are still battling for survival at the hospital.

 

The residents, therefore, appealed to the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to come to their rescue, saying that the flood from Ogidi, Umunachi, Eke Nkpor and Obosi communities is now channelled to their layout that has no Sacamori to accommodate such heavy floods.

Efforts to speak to the husband of the deceased proved abortive as he declined comments, saying he was still in shock and not in the right frame of mind to say anything.

When contacted on the development, the Public Relations Officer of the State Emergency Management Agency, Chinyere Nwoye, said she just heard about news of the incident, promising to send SEMA operatives to the area to ascertain the situation.

“I am just hearing about the information, we are making contact to reach out to the commissioner for works and our men will be mobilised to move to the area to ascertain the situation,” Nwoye added.