JACOB OGODO , Abakaliki
Following a relentless rainfall overnight, a devastating flood has swept through parts of Ikwo local government area in Ebonyi state, destroying rice crops and other farmlands worth millions of naira.
The affected areas include Ndiagu Amagu, Ekpaomaka, among others, leaving the farmers in distress.
The full extent of the damage is still being assessed but the livelihood of many agricultural families have been affected by the natural disaster.
Officials have urged residents living in low-lying areas to relocate to safer ground and remain vigilant as more rain is expected in the coming days.
Meanwhile, as the rate of rainfall continues to increase in the state, residents of flood-prone areas in Abakaliki the Ebonyi State Capital has urged the state government and relevant agencies to come up with active proactive intervention arrangements to deal with the consequences that may likely arise as a result of the flood.
The village Head of Onu Ebonyi Inyimagu in Izzi Local Government Area Chief Christopher Esha lamented the bitter experience of people of the area in the previous years, stressing that the area is easily submerged by the flood .
Chief Esha said the bank of the Ebonyi River which is very close to the village is not helping matters due to it structure and called on Governor Francis Nwifuru to dredge the Ebonyi River bank to check the annual persistence flood devastating encounter.
On his part, Sunday Ofoke lamented that the dredging of Iyi Udele river bank to the Ebonyi River by a federal agency (NEWMAP) to check the flood invasion in the area few years ago is relatively a failed effort.
This is because the correct natural water lane was abandoned by the contractors to short cut the distance to the Ebonyi River despite high level opposition by the residents then and they are bitterly suffering the outcome presently..
He said many people, including little children, had been drawn by the overwhelming flood wave encroachment with many buildings collapsing and properties worth billions of naira belonging to the trapped people destroyed.
He appealed for emergency government intervention to liberate them from the sad situation.
Collaborating their stories, Mmaduabuchi Ofoke and elder Innocent Nwede of Izzi Unuphu regretted that after the construction of the canal by (NEWMAP) that is linked to Ebonyi River few years ago , in the rainy season like now, owners of vehicles and motor cycles do not drive it to their residential areas instead, they park it at anywhere outside the area irrespective of high level insecurity concerns.
They appealed to Governor Nwifuru not to allow the chances of reclaiming the environment and dredging the bank of Ebonyi River pass them by within this administration to restore security of lives and property from this natural disaste,r mainly as among the villages that volunteered their lands for the capital city of the state, Abakaliki .
According to them, many families from the area are now refugees elsewhere as an alternative to safe lives and properties because no one knows when the predicted flood will hit the area.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government through the National Flood Early Warning Center,under the Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone recently forecasted that eleven states including Ebonyi state’s neighbors like Cross River are on the risk of flooding, forecasting a heavy downpour in the affected areas.
It can also be re-called that Ebonyi is one of the states predicted by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency to likely encounter ugly flooding in the ongoing rainy season.
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