Flood sacks Delta community

…as govt gives assistance to disaster victims

OLEH—HUNDREDS of indigenes of Aradhe community, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, have been rendered homeless following a ravaging flood that submerged the community.

Meanwhile, the state government has provided relief assistance to victims of natural disaster at Emevor community, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state.

Recall that rain storm wrecked havoc in the community sometime in April 2018, destroying buildings, economic trees and electricity poles in the area.

The Aradhe flood was a result of three days of unabated rain, which destroyed properties and farmlands in the area.

A resident of the community, Mrs Rachael Ikelegbe, who counted her losses, blamed the problem of perennial flooding in the community on the absence of drainage system.

She said, “As you can see, no way for the water to flow down to the stream in the whole community. We have lost so many of our goods to this flood. My garri and other foods are wet. I and my children couldn’t sleep all through past night due to the flood.

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“We are appealing to the state and local governments to come to our aid by constructing drains and water channels across the various streets in the community.

“You can see that from the beginning of the community down to the end, there are no drains or water channels. So how can the water flow? If we have drains and water channels in our streets and along our roads, we can always clear them, in order to avert the flood.”

For the Emevor people, who received state government’s assistance, adressing the beneficiaries in Asaba, Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, sympathized with them and enjoined them not to see the gestures made by the government as a form of compensation for their losses.

He urged Deltans to be vigilant especially in adverse weather conditions in order to avert loss of lives, stressing that while properties lost to natural disasters may be replaceable, loss of life cannot be replaced.

In his remarks, Director, state Emergency Management Agency SEMA, Mr. Karo Ovemeso, commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for the intervention by his administration.

He disclosed that about 24 persons were affected and the gesture was a further demonstration of Okowa’s care for the people of the state.