Residents of Lawani Street in Igarra, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State are counting their losses after the heavy flood that swept through the community on Monday, July 8.
During a visit to the community on Tuesday, a widow, Mrs. Theresa Moses, who also runs poultry in her residence, told PUNCH Metro that the effect of the flood had left her devastated following her difficulty in paying back the N3.5m loan she invested in her business.
She said most of her birds were dead, a part of her fence was damaged and her foodstuff and other items were destroyed in her house.
She said, “On July 8, I left my home around 11 am to the neighbouring community where I do business. My children had also left home while my tenant was also not around.
“When it was about to rain, someone called to inform me that it seemed that the rain would be severe. I told the person that my house was fenced and I wasn’t afraid of being flooded.
“After a while, another person called to tell me that the flood had destroyed part of my fence and water had entered my house where I also have a poultry. I then rushed home to discover that my poultry and the house were submerged.
“I met people trying to save some birds. All the broilers on the floor were swept away by the flood. The cage was locked and the ones inside were trapped and some died. I have about 620 birds but I am left with 140 now.
“My house is not on the flood part and the small river behind my house is far away. I couldn’t say if it overflowed its banks because I wasn’t home. Water was also coming down the hill behind my house. The entire Lawani was flooded.
She said she invested her funds but to make the business grow, she took a loan of N3.5m from a thrift society to which she belonged, noting that she needed to pay back the loan monthly and this might be difficult to do.
“With the fence destroyed, the whole house is open and security is now a concern. I can say we are lucky not to be in the house on that day. Our foodstuff and some other household items were also destroyed.
“The entire Igarra has never seen anything like this before”, she added.
Another resident whose three-bedroom bungalow was submerged in the flood, Olatunde Adelemo, said he lost all his properties, including important documents to the flood.
“The flood took my family unaware as we never expected it on that fateful day. The last we experienced such a thing was in 2013.
“I lost all my property to the flood including electrical appliances like a Plasma television. I lost an Android phone while my two phones also got damaged. I have been trying to repair my phone since that day but no luck.
“My vital documents were also destroyed and I don’t know if they could be recovered. It is a bad experience and it will be difficult to recover from this loss.
“I don’t believe the government can render any assistance. Do we even have a government? The last time it happened in 2013, they took my name and promised to help but after waiting for several hours in the government office, I was told the computer wiped out my name.
“Things like these are used for political gains. It is only God who can help in this situation.
A trader who sells food items in a store in the area said she lost over N1m to the flood. Salami stated that she was not at her store when the area became flooded but her goods were destroyed when she came the next day.
“I lost over a N1m to the flood. I sell foodstuff like rice, Semovita, spaghetti, seasoning and salt. I was away when the flood took over the area and I was not able to open the store on that day.
So, when I came back the following day, I had lost 16 bags of rice, three cartons of spaghetti, salt and seasonings. Some residents who felt they could still eat the spaghetti took them away because it wasn’t possible to sell them
“The house where my store is located was also flooded and I am sure they must have lost household items to the flood too.
“I can say I am only coping by the Grace of God as this loss is a big one to overcome. I hope the government will come to our aid soon.
The state Commissioner for Public Safety and Security, Kingsley Uwagbale, while sympathising with the victims, urged the residents to leave flood paths, adding that the government was doing all it could to help the victims.
He said, “Some floods have been recorded in the state. The governor declared the EOC opened on Saturday. We were all out to tell residents to leave the flood path. Flood is not what anybody can fight. The best thing is to leave the path.
“When a flood comes, it moves away naturally but when the houses block its path, it becomes a problem.
“The government will still come to the aid of those who have been affected. We won’t leave them just because we have warned them to leave the flood path .
“We have set up Local Emergency Management Committee to identify the issue and report back to us in the ministry so we can offer additional help if needed.”
He promised that the state emergency management authority would be in Akoko Edo from Monday next week to help and guide the victims.