When flood came at night

Families count losses across Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

From Isaac Job, Uyo

At about 3am, when most residents of Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, were deep in sleep, floodwaters began creeping into homes across parts of the metropolis. Within minutes, what many thought would be another brief flooding episode turned into a desperate struggle for survival.

Residents woke to find their parlours, bedrooms and compounds flooded, forcing some to flee with their children, while others watched helplessly as household belongings and means of livelihood were submerged.

The flooding, caused by torrential rainfall in the city, had earlier been predicted by weather forecasters, but many residents were left unprepared for the speed and scale with which the water invaded their homes.

Some residents were alerted by neighbours while they were still asleep, only to wake up and discover that their cushion chairs, dining tables, television sets, utensils and other household belongings were already floating in their parlours.

Others rushed into their children’s rooms to wake them and move them to safety. It became a race for rescue and survival as properties were soaked and carried away by the floodwater.

The experience of Mrs. Emilia Etop Emmanuel, who resides at Nung Obio Enang, by Berger Yard to Pepsi Junction, was particularly touching. Emilia, who was fast asleep when the entire compound was submerged by water, told Daily Sun that she heard the rain and thought the floodwater would be a flash  flood, as usual. Unknown to her, however, the compound had turned into a ‘mini ocean’.

“I rushed to the children’s room. I carried my last son, while my older daughter Esther carried her sister as my husband Etop Emmanuel was struggling to reduced the volume of water coming to our compound.

“Before I stepped outside to run with children to my neighbours house, the water was already at my neck but I struggled with my children out for safety.

“My husband was watching as his tricycle, which was our only means of survival, was submerged.

“Oh! All my labour is gone! We cried but nobody heard us. Till today, no succour from anywhere has come to us.

“A few days ago, some government officials came to us and we narrated our ordeals to them. I am praying to God to touch our governor, Pastor Umo Eno, to see how to help us in this situation. I believe that Governor Umo, being humane and kind-hearted, will rescue us. God will bless him for sending his officials to come.”

The same lamentations resonate in several parts of Uyo, including 2 Lane, Nung Obio Enang community by Idoro Road, Nkemba Street, Brooks Street, 4 Lane by Ukafia, IBB Junction, Atiku Abubakar Way and Ifa.

Another flood victim and resident of Ifa, identified as Effiong Akpan Imowo, said he escaped death by the whiskers.

Akpan Imowo, a widower whose wife died in active service with the Inland Revenue Service, leaving behind their 12-year-old daughter, had also retired from the Local Government Service Commission in the state. He told Daily Sun that he ran out in the night in his pyjamas after floodwater filled his compound, parlour and rooms.

“As I am talking to you now, I have no clothes to wear. My household belongings are inside water. I don’t know what will happen to my degree certificate and other vital documents.

“My only hope now is my church, Apostolic Faith, and government. I believe Governor Umo Eno will not fail me. I trust him as our leader that he will intervene.”

For the affected families, the destruction went beyond household belongings. Important documents, means of livelihood and personal possessions accumulated over years were suddenly at the mercy of the floodwater.

However, the Akwa Ibom State Government moved to respond to the situation through a number of remedial measures.

The state government, in collaboration with the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), commenced desilting of gutters after the flood, alongside visits to flood victims at different locations.

The agency, in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency (AKSEPA), also refuted reports that the flood drowned two persons along Nkemba Street in the city.

Reports on social media had alleged that two persons died in the flood along Nkemba Street, causing fear, panic and tension in the community.

Speaking on behalf of the community, the youth president of Iboko Offot, Mr. Francis Jumbo, described the reports of fatalities as false, adding that, although the flooding caused significant damage to property, no life was lost: “We lost a goat and few chickens, not human lives.”

He appreciated the Akwa Ibom State Government for its swift response to the incident and pledged the community’s full cooperation as efforts continued to clear blocked drainage channels along the Nwaniba-Ikot Ekpene Road corridor and other affected parts of the state.

Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Nsikak Ekong, said the state government had intensified intervention efforts across flood-prone areas to reduce the impact of heavy rainfall.

He urged residents to desist from dumping refuse in drainage channels, noting that gutters serve as designated waterways and must remain free to allow the unhindered flow of stormwater.

Condemning the spate of structures built on top of drainages, the commissioner announced that no effort would be spared to remove such structures to ensure the free flow of water.

“I’ve interacted with the village head and members of the community, and no life was lost. The worst hit location of the flood on this Nkemba axis, was the Church of Christ vicinity, and there was no casualty.”

Also speaking, the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, Dr. Ubong Harrison, said the agency, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, had been monitoring desilting operations across the state in line with Governor Umo Eno’s directive.

Harrison assured residents that the ongoing desilting exercise would improve the free flow of water through drainage systems and help prevent a recurrence of such flooding incidents.

Chairman of Amitec Construction Limited, Chief Aiman Saimua, who is handling the desilting project, said the company’s workers were operating intensively to ensure drainage channels were cleared to reduce the risk of future flooding.

Meanwhile, Governor Umo Eno has unveiled a strategy to address perennial flooding in the state.

He announced plans to develop a new flood and drainage master plan through the establishment of a specialised environmental task force, enforcement of monthly sanitation exercise and demolition of all structures obstructing natural drainage channels.

Eno disclosed the measures while speaking to journalists after an unscheduled inspection tour of the Judiciary Staff Quarters project in Uyo, adding that effective flood control remained a shared responsibility between government and residents.

He explained that the state’s existing flood management blueprint no longer reflected the realities of rapid urbanisation and expanding infrastructure and directed the Commissioner for Environment to immediately assemble environmental experts, engineers and relevant stakeholders to produce a modern flood and drainage master plan that would guide infrastructure development, drainage construction and flood mitigation across the state.

“We need to have a state flood and drainage master plan. The one we have is old. There are new developments that have taken place. We are bringing all our experts together and will develop the state flood master plan so that we can use it.

“We will do our part, but we also expect all of us as citizens to do our own part too so that we can solve some of these problems.”