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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Friday, September 18, 2026, was supposed to be just another rainy day in the Nenwenta rural community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, but a torrential rain turned the usually quiet community into a scene of tragedy, leaving six members of one family dead and a four-year-old child as the lone survivor.
The victims, whose identities were not immediately disclosed, were a man, his wife, their three children and their grandmother. They were inside their home when an overhead tank collapsed on the building, crushing them.
The four-year-old survivor was later pulled from the wreckage and taken to hospital for treatment. But even as the tragedy unfolded, another disaster made it difficult for help to reach the victims. The heavy rainfall triggered a landslide that cut off Nenwenta and the neighbouring Ugwueme communities from the rest of Enugu State.
The road linking the communities was rendered impassable, leaving residents stranded and making access difficult for emergency responders. It was a devastating combination —a family trapped under a collapsed structure, while the only major access route to the community had been cut off.
Villagers said the situation became so difficult that residents travelling out of the affected communities had to pass through neighbouring Abia and Imo states before reconnecting with other parts of Enugu.
For the affected family, however, there was no escape. By the time help could get through, six members of the household had lost their lives, leaving the four-year-old survivor to face a future without parents, siblings and grandmother.
The full extent of the tragedy came to the attention of the Enugu State House of Assembly on Monday when the member representing Awgu South State Constituency, Hon. Anthony Nwankwo, raised the matter under a motion of urgent public importance. Nwankwo painted a grim picture of the disaster, telling his colleagues how the family was wiped out when the tank collapsed on their building. He said only a four-year-old child survived.
The lawmaker lamented that the victims might have been rescued if the road leading to the communities was accessible. He said the landslide had made it difficult for emergency responders to reach Nenwenta and Ugwueme to provide timely assistance. The tragedy, he said, should serve as a wake-up call for urgent intervention in the affected communities.
“I move that the House do write the relevant authorities to intervene, to open the road leading to Ugwueme and Nenwenta,” he said.
Nwankwo appealed to the Enugu State Ministry of Works, the Enugu State Emergency Management Authority (SEMA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Ecological Fund to urgently intervene. He said reopening the road would restore movement and enable emergency agencies to respond more effectively to emergencies in the communities.
The appeal received the support of other members of the assembly, who sympathised with Nwankwo and the people of his constituency over the loss of lives.
Contributing to the motion, the lawmakers representing Ezeagu, Nkanu East, and Oji River constituencies, Chima Obieze, Okey Mba, and Osita Eze, respectively, described the incident as a natural disaster. They, however, warned residents against building close to hills or engaging in reckless excavation of soil and stones, saying such activities could contribute to landslides. The lawmakers urged the government to urgently reopen the road and provide relief to residents affected by the disaster.
For Nenwenta and neighbouring Ugwueme, the September 18 disaster was more than a landslide or a blocked road. It was a day that left one family mourning six of its members, while a four-year-old child was left to survive without the parents, siblings, and grandmother.
