Edith CHUKU
The incessant heavy downpour of rain has brought great concern to residents of Rumuekpe Community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Speaking with TNN in an interview, Elder Nlerum Chukwu-Ude described as terrible, the experience of residents of the flood ravaging area, whenever there is flooding.
Chukwu-Ude who is in his late sixties, explained that if not for the camps provided for internally displaced persons by the government, a lot of them would have been long dead and forgotten.
He described flood as a ‘very dangerous period’ which he said is accompanied by loss of accommodation, properties, destruction of farm produce, hunger, snake bites, displacement of relatives, death among others.
According to him, “Flood is very terrible I tell you, very, very terrible, infact it’s a very dangerous period and time. It is better you don’t have food in your house than for flood to come, I tell you, hunger is better than flood.
“The only good thing is that they use to provide where we used to stay during flood, and I pray God bless them but eh no easy. You cannot go to farm again, everything is destroyed, accommodation, properties, farm things, there is serious hunger, another thing is snake bite, snake will leave bush and enter houses, relatives will loss, some will even die, flood is very dangerous.”
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On the efforts of the government to manage the situation should the flood occur, Chukwu-Ude said, “I want to thank the Emohua Local Government Chairman, Sir Chidi Lloyd, you see, this em, sanitation people abi wetin them dey call them, from the local government have been moving about telling people to clean their gutter, don’t heap dustbin here, it is very good if people will hear and obey. Me I used to shout for my wife and children, lie lie, because I know what we suffer so I don’t use to keep quiet.”
Recall that the Emohua LGA Emergency Management Committee have kick-started a community to community awareness campaign to sensitize residents of communities that may be affected by flood in the area on the need to embark on regular cleaning of waterways and drainages.
The committee was commissioned by the LGA chairman, Dr. Chidi Lloyd ahead of the imminent 2023 flood as forecasted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency NiMet.
Chairman of the emergency management team, Mr. Peter Wogbo, during the awareness campaign educated residents of the visited communities on the early warning signs of flash flood, while encouraging the people to be vigilant, especially during and after every heavy downpour to avoid being taken unawares.
Wogbo said, “some of the early warning signs of flood include dam or river bank failure, tropical storms and hurricanes, prolonged rainfall, as well as early snow melting, depending on the topography of a particular area.”
The committee said it also identified some suitable locations to situate camps for internally displaced persons and temporary learning facilities for students if the impending flood affect schools.
They further initiated partnership with traditional rulers of the visited communities to ensure that the awareness campaign was extended to every nook and cranny in the area with the use of local town criers.
Some of the areas visited include Rumuekpe, Rundele, Elele-Alimini, Akpabu and Omudioga communities.
