Rivers govt opens IDP camp after flood displaced over 200 people

The flood that wreaked havoc on four towns in Rivers State's Oyigbo Local Government Area has forced at least 200 people to flee their homes.

This occurred months after the National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Meteorological Agency both predicted that this year would see significant floods in various local government areas in the state.

Some of the affected homeowners claimed that the flooding caught them off guard, that they have lost belongings and life investments, and that they are requesting assistance from the local and state administrations.

They listed Umuegbulum 1 and 2, Oyigbo West, and Umuokologbe as some of the impacted areas, regretting the fact that some of them have sought sanctuary in the camp for internally displaced people.

A resident of Oyigbo West, Sunday Anayo, said, “As I speak to you now, there is water everywhere from the road to my compound. Some people have even left their houses because of the situation. The flood is huge.

“From what I heard, the local government has opened one IDP camp and many of the people affected badly are there. Some people will still join them there.”

Another affected person, Chinaza, said, “My mattress, electronics, documents and children’s property were affected. The level of water is something else. Imagine a fridge being covered by the water. More than 200 people now don’t have a place to stay.

“So we just escaped by running away and we found ourselves here. We are just helpless now and we are begging the government to come to our aid because the camp they set up may not contain all those affected.”

Nwaogu Akara, the local government's chairman, reported that the council has begun moving impacted residents to the nearby IDP camp.

Akara stated, “In our meetings, we agreed that we are going to approach the problem in phases and we have swung into action and started preparing. We are done with the first phase.

“The second phase is what we are facing now. The flood has finally arrived. The state government has assisted us in fixing a place and we have started moving displaced persons to the IDP camp.

“We will try our best, as a government, to make sure that our people do not suffer as a result of this occurrence.”

Source