Flood submerges A’Ibom community, sacks hundreds from homes

Hundreds of residents of Emeroke community in the Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have been rendered homeless as flood caused by ocean surge overran the community.

The flood, which destroyed property estimated at several millions of naira and made life miserable for the residents, was exacerbated by many years of oil exploration activities in the area.

The President of Utoono Obolo, Sunday Afiko, told our correspondent on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, that the community was at the mercy of flood.

He said pleas for government’s intervention in terms of provision of relief materials and temporary accommodation for displaced persons, had fallen on deaf ears.

In one of the numerous letters to the Commissioner for Environment in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Charles Udoh, and copied to the national and state lawmakers representing the area, Afiko called for urgent intervention to address the problem in the area.

“The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the bitter experience of Sunday, September 20, 2020, which our people woke up to see that the entire kingdom had been submerged in water.

“As we write, properties worth millions of naira are already lost to the flood. Some families are already displaced. There is tension everywhere.

“This disaster has brought untold hardship and colossal economical loss upon the people of Emereoke,” the letter said.

In a related development, the leadership of the Asaba Airport View Estate Association has appealed for the intervention of the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, after flood reportedly swept away over 70 buildings on the estate.

According to the association, houses on the estate were submerged in flood due to lack of good roads and drainage system in the community.

In a communiqué signed by the Chairman of the association, Joseph Obi, on Tuesday in Asaba, the group said landlords and tenants no longer had access to their houses and apartments.

“My apartment was used as a campaign venue for the re-election of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa by some of his commissioners, who promised to construct the Airport View Road.

“As I speak to you now, over 70 buildings have been submerged and more than 70 houses are being threatened,” Obi said.

He noted that his house and that of others were flooded with reptiles making way into their rooms.