2,000 displaced, farmlands washed away as River Cross overflowsfollowing heavy rains
WHAT many in Calabar , the Cross River State capital and its satellite communities feared , has unfortunately come to pass at last.
With rain relentlessly pounding Calabar, the Cross River State capital, almost continually for three weeks , the river after which the state is named overflowed its banks , leaving in its trail tales of woe.
Most specially hit are Ikom and other towns around where the attendant destruction of houses and farms are estimated in tens of millions of naira.
The overflow delivered a devastating blow on Ikom and communities around where over 200 homes have been submerged and over 2000 farm lands of crops like yams, okra, melon, cocoyam and cassava laid waste.
Other areas devastated along with Ikom include Okuni and Agbaragba where over 2000 persons have been displaced and have been evacuated from their homes and are now squatting with neighbours and relatives.
Residents of the historic town of Ikom are in a mournful state as the displaced have not only lost their homes to the flood, but household property including food stuffs, electronics and cash.
When The Guardian visited the ravaged areas, it was only possible in canoes which were also being used deployed to ferry victims and their property to safety.
The Okuni axis of the river along the Ikom -Calabar highway and which covers about 300 meters was completely submerged cutting off traffic on both sides.
Hundreds of vehicles including trucks carrying perishable goods such as tomatoes, bananas and plantain from the Northern part of the country to the South and some from the South to the North were stranded with their goods rotting away.
Almost every meaningful economic activity as it relates to transportation and other sundry businesses have been badly affected as a result of the flooding.
But while so many are in tears , bemoaning their losses, some have cashed in on the situation to make brisk business.
They ferry people across flooded roads at N100 per person.
Some of the victims told The Guardian the flood took them by surprise .
They said they went to bed as usual only to be forced by the flood that had invaded their homes, lamenting that before they could do anything to save the situation, the flood caused by the overflowing river had destroyed their property or washed them into the river.
A farmer , Mr Martins Ogar, said : “This is devastating. I have not seen this kind of flooding before. In fact this is the kind of thing I see in foreign television but it is right here under my nose”.
He said it was more pathetic that foodstuff could not be salvaged and that their farms have been washed away exposing them to hunger, thirst and diseases such as cholera and malaria
The Director-General Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Vincent Aquah (MON) who carried out a rapid assessment of the disaster recently described the losses occasioned by the flooding as unprecedented.
According to him, “it is pathetic that the state was experiencing such magnitude of disaster. Calabar South and Calabar Municipality were ravaged by flooding in which property worth millions of naira were lost”. He expressed fear that the water which was not showing signs of receding was capable of causing more damage to property.
The Director-General thanked God that so far, no report of loss of life had been made apart from livestock and property.
The Chairman of the Ikom Local Government Council, Dr. Tony Ngban appealed to the state government to come to their aid as the effect of the disaster was beyond the capacity of the council to cope with.
He lamented that thousands of the displaced were living in dehumanizing conditions and warranted urgent attention.
The Councilor from Ikom Urban, Hon. Nicholas Odu who conducted the Director-General round some of the affected areas said that the last time such magnitude of flooding was experienced was seven years ago adding that it had been recurring within the same period for the past four decades.
WHAT many in Calabar , the Cross River State capital and its satellite communities feared , has unfortunately come to pass at last.
With rain relentlessly pounding Calabar, the Cross River State capital, almost continually for three weeks , the river after which the state is named overflowed its banks , leaving in its trail tales of woe.
Most specially hit are Ikom and other towns around where the attendant destruction of houses and farms are estimated in tens of millions of naira.
The overflow delivered a devastating blow on Ikom and communities around where over 200 homes have been submerged and over 2000 farm lands of crops like yams, okra, melon, cocoyam and cassava laid waste.
Other areas devastated along with Ikom include Okuni and Agbaragba where over 2000 persons have been displaced and have been evacuated from their homes and are now squatting with neighbours and relatives.
Residents of the historic town of Ikom are in a mournful state as the displaced have not only lost their homes to the flood, but household property including food stuffs, electronics and cash.
When The Guardian visited the ravaged areas, it was only possible in canoes which were also being used deployed to ferry victims and their property to safety.
The Okuni axis of the river along the Ikom -Calabar highway and which covers about 300 meters was completely submerged cutting off traffic on both sides.
Hundreds of vehicles including trucks carrying perishable goods such as tomatoes, bananas and plantain from the Northern part of the country to the South and some from the South to the North were stranded with their goods rotting away.
Almost every meaningful economic activity as it relates to transportation and other sundry businesses have been badly affected as a result of the flooding.
But while so many are in tears , bemoaning their losses, some have cashed in on the situation to make brisk business.
They ferry people across flooded roads at N100 per person.
Some of the victims told The Guardian the flood took them by surprise .
They said they went to bed as usual only to be forced by the flood that had invaded their homes, lamenting that before they could do anything to save the situation, the flood caused by the overflowing river had destroyed their property or washed them into the river.
A farmer , Mr Martins Ogar, said : “This is devastating. I have not seen this kind of flooding before. In fact this is the kind of thing I see in foreign television but it is right here under my nose”.
He said it was more pathetic that foodstuff could not be salvaged and that their farms have been washed away exposing them to hunger, thirst and diseases such as cholera and malaria
The Director-General Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Vincent Aquah (MON) who carried out a rapid assessment of the disaster recently described the losses occasioned by the flooding as unprecedented.
According to him, “it is pathetic that the state was experiencing such magnitude of disaster. Calabar South and Calabar Municipality were ravaged by flooding in which property worth millions of naira were lost”. He expressed fear that the water which was not showing signs of receding was capable of causing more damage to property.
The Director-General thanked God that so far, no report of loss of life had been made apart from livestock and property.
The Chairman of the Ikom Local Government Council, Dr. Tony Ngban appealed to the state government to come to their aid as the effect of the disaster was beyond the capacity of the council to cope with.
He lamented that thousands of the displaced were living in dehumanizing conditions and warranted urgent attention.
The Councilor from Ikom Urban, Hon. Nicholas Odu who conducted the Director-General round some of the affected areas said that the last time such magnitude of flooding was experienced was seven years ago adding that it had been recurring within the same period for the past four decades.
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