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• Destroy houses, farms in Okposi, Uburu, Ivo communities
• 21 families displaced in Mgbom N’achara, 60 houses destroyed, 300 persons displaced in Akaeze, 20 houses collapse in Ndi Ibezeukwu
• Humanitarian crisis, disease outbreak loom as residents cry out for aid
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Accessing Ohuegu, a riverine village in the Mgbom N’achara community, Okposi in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was one of the most difficult things anyone could think of this week.
Over the years, the community has faced extreme neglect. Residents live without electricity, health facilities, schools, potable water, access roads, telecommunications networks and other social amenities that make life meaningful.
Now, floods have compounded their woes by destroying many houses, crops and other valuables worth millions of naira after heavy downpour that lasted several days. The disaster first struck on September 23, 2026 after the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA) warned of heightened flood risk in the state. While some residents of the area remain trapped in the village since the disaster occurred, others have relocated to neighbouring communities sailing in canoes, the only means of accessing the area currently.
Reaching the displaced residents required trekking through thick bushes, a perilous canoe crossing and a walk through swampy routes, a 55 minutes journey to the devastated area. It was a tale of woes on arrival at the area. The atmosphere was heavy with grief and despair. Vast tracts of cassava, yam, and essential cash crops, the sole economic lifeline of the villagers, lay ruined beneath thick layers of mud.
Over 20 houses were pulled down by the disaster while valuable property including motor vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and livestock were swept away, leaving the area in shambles.
For the victims, the immediate struggle is finding shelter, securing food and surviving the aftermath. Mrs. Chinasa Emmanuel, a nursing mother, woke to find her home submerged. With floodwaters rising around the building around 2 a.m. last Wednesday. She raised the alarm, lifted her baby onto her chest, gathered her other children, and began dragging them through the rising water level, all in the dark.
The mother of four told Saturday Sun that the flood has brought hunger and starvation to the family, as every available food item in the house was swept away by the floods. The torrential rain also pulled down her three rooms building, rendering them homeless. She narrated that it was her neighbours that used a canoe to evacuate her children.
She said: “We were in deep sleep when I suddenly noticed that I was on top of water and immediately raised the alarm. When I opened the door, I saw everywhere covered with water.
“I immediately opened the door to the children’s room and saw them floating on their mattress and I raised a serious alarm which immediately attracted our neighbours who were also battling to escape from the village.
John Ogonna, a resident of Mgbom N’Achara told Saturday Sun that “Before we knew what was happening, our houses were filled to the brim with flood water. We couldn’t save anything. Our harvested crops, our clothes, everything went with the flood. We are just holding onto life.”
Another resident, Aja Okoro, said his house was destroyed by the impact of the flash flood in the community.
“For three days after the rain, nobody knew what we were passing through because there was no way in or out. Hunger is killing our children as all our cassava farms are buried in mud,” he said.
But Udeh Chukwu-Obaji, who is Secretary of the Mgbom N’Achara Community Development Union, said that the tragedy has exposed the extreme vulnerability of the people.
“Emergency relief bags will help us survive today, but what we need most is access. We are appealing directly to Governor Francis Nwifuru and the Federal Government to build an access road and a bridge connecting Ohuegu Mgbom N’Achara. Without roads, even when help is sent, it cannot reach us on time,” Chukwu-Obaji said.
Chief Philip Eze, President General of Mgbom N’achara autonomous community, said 21 families were displaced from the area by the natural disaster. He described the condition of the victims as pathetic and called on government and relevant agencies to come to their aid.
“It is very unfortunate. It is a very sad situation for us here in Mgbom N’achara autonomous community because a section of the community has been wiped off by flood.
“So many families, about 21 families, have been displaced. They have been removed from their homes. Everything is wiped off by the flood and we are calling on the Federal Government through the relevant agencies to come to our aid. We are here crying for help.
“We need urgent help, this place is very isolated. We are made up of 11 villages and out of these villages, we have six villages and it is isolated,” Eze said.
In Amaegbu, Akaeze community in Ivo Local Government Area of the state, over 60 houses were destroyed with 300 persons displaced by flood the same day the disaster struck in Ohuegu. It also destroyed valuable property worth billions of naira in the area. Chief Michael Uzor, one of the victims, told Saturday Sun that the flood destroyed his farmlands, TV sets, vehicles, certificates and other valuable property.
“Many houses collapsed in this axis and more are still collapsing as a result of the flooding. In this particular place, Ndi Ibezeukwu, over 20 houses have fallen down since this disaster started,” he said.
Uzor called on the government at all levels to come to the aid of the victims. He revealed that many residents of the community, including children, have been displaced by the disaster.
Another victim, Mrs. Joy Chikezie, said the houses that were destroyed in her own axis in the community were many.
“As you can see, many houses are down here. You can’t count the number of houses that have been destroyed by this disaster. We are homeless now and our farmlands have been destroyed too. The losses are enormous. We are sad, we are helpless, we need assistance,” she lamented.
Residents of the area faced renewed hardship on September 30 as a fresh flood submerged the community, forcing families to flee their homes with children and salvaged belongings.
This surge comes just a week after a devastating flood ravaged the area, leaving many residents still struggling to recover.
The member representing Onicha, Ohaozara and Ivo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Nkemkama Kama, described the flood as terrible and devastating.
“I came to see the devastating effect of the flood that affected my people. It is terrible. I have not seen anything like such devastation before. Houses and families have been displaced, homes destroyed, and properties worth billions of naira lost,” Kama said.
The lawmaker, who was accompanied by stakeholders of the council, raised some money and 500 cartons of noodles for the victims of the flood. He said the donation was intended to provide immediate relief to the victims while awaiting further intervention from the state and Federal Governments. He disclosed that he provided N4 million personally, while the Commissioner for Infrastructure, Ebonyi State, Engr. Obasi Abara, contributed an additional N4 million.
Kama also disclosed that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) had visited the affected areas, adding that he had communicated with the Director-General of NEMA over the disaster.
He expressed optimism that additional assistance would come from both the state and Federal governments, saying: “I can assure you there will be many interventions coming from the state and the federal levels.”
One of the victims of the flood, Okoro Emmanuel, said the flood had caused unprecedented destruction, with several buildings collapsing and farms submerged. He appealed to the government and well-meaning individuals to come to the community’s aid.
Another victim, Nwali Ogochukwu, said he lost his buildings to the flood. “I lost my buildings. All my buildings just fell. All of them,” he said, as he appealed for assistance.
The victims said although no lives were lost; the disaster had displaced residents and destroyed valuables.
The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said it has recovered all those who were carried away by flood that ravaged some parts of the state.
Clement Ovuoba, the Executive Secretary of the agency said it had recovered the victims. He said some officials of the agency slept in the communities and ensured that the victims were recovered. He also disclosed that the agency carried out assessment on the affected communities over the disaster.
“We have covered Akeze, Ohaozara, Ivo. My workers had to sleep at Akeze the other day because it was late. If they didn’t come home, they had to stay there.
“But that’s by the way. We have done the assessment. We collected our data. The executive governor of the state, Francis Nwifuru, asked us to do the necessary things so that we could get relief materials for the affected people. And those who were already in the flood-prone areas, we asked them to relocate.
“We relocated some people, but you know, in our culture, people don’t like going to a new place. If you don’t go to your maternal area, you start going to your paternal area. But we made sure that nobody should stay where they live if the place is dangerous.
“Those who were carried away by the water, we were there until they were recovered. We have done those things already.
“Before this time, we did our preparedness, which was informing them about the rain. That is the only warning after NIMET gave us the information about the flood for the year.
“Another problem we have is that this flood has also brought a thunderstorm at Obegu Ebonyi Local Government Area, where two lives were lost. Two women were killed by lightning this year. So, we are covering the state. That was on 24th of August”, Ovuoba stated.
Meanwhile, an angry flood has also struck Enu Uburu community in Ohaozara LGA in the state. The agrarian community is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and economic catastrophe following torrential rainfall between September and October 2026. Many residential buildings submerged, fences pulled down and vast economic infrastructure devastated.
In a statement, the Chief Media Officer, Enu Uburu Autonomous Community Town Union, Mr. Joseph Chukwu, stated that many families have been rendered homeless and over 5000 hectares of farmlands destroyed, causing monumental havoc in the area. The community, therefore, appealed to the state and federal governments, NEMA, donor agencies and public spirited individuals for immediate intervention.
“Enu Uburu is resilient, but the sheer scale of a N12.5 billion loss far exceeds local capacity. We implore all tiers of government, public-spirited individuals, and corporate bodies to treat this cry with the utmost urgency it deserves,” the community stated.
