Editor: Chinwe Mamah
No fewer than four communities in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State — Mpu, Okpanku, Ndiabor and Oduma — have been ravaged by a devastating flood, leaving residents displaced and destroying houses, shops, rice mills, farmlands and other property worth millions of naira.
The flood, which reportedly began on September 20, intensified on Tuesday and Wednesday, submerging parts of Afor Okpanku, Ivo Bridge and adjoining roads.
More than 10 houses reportedly collapsed, while rice, yam and cassava farms were washed away by the surging floodwaters.
As of press time, residents were evacuating their families and belongings to safer locations as heavy rainfall continued across the affected communities.
The Councillor representing Mpu Ward, Hon. Edwin Ogbuka, described the situation as life-threatening, saying several houses and farmlands had been severely affected.
Hon. Ogbuka, who called for urgent government intervention, attributed the flooding to the overflow of water from the abandoned Ivo Dam project.
Also speaking, a community leader in Mpu, Mr Chukwu Magnus Dele, said six villages in the community had been affected, forcing displaced residents to seek refuge at Amachalla Town School.
He appealed to the government and relevant emergency management agencies to urgently provide relief materials and other assistance to the victims.
Similarly, the Youth Leader of Okpanku, Mr George Ahaefuna, described the disaster as unprecedented.
He said: “Since I was born, I have never seen this kind of flood in my life. The flood has destroyed all we have laboured for this year.
“It has destroyed our crops, rice and yam farms worth millions of naira. I am appealing to the Federal Government, Enugu State Government, Aninri Local Government, NEMA and SEMA to come to our aid.”
A shop owner at Afor Okpanku Market, Mrs Patricia Chukwu, said goods worth millions of naira had remained submerged for two days.
“This development is devastating. This is the worst flood that has affected Okpanku in my generation.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman of Aninri Local Government Area, Prince Ugochukwu Nwanjoku, expressed concern over the disaster, noting that some parts of the council area experience flooding twice yearly, which he linked to the uncompleted Ivo Dam project.
Prince Nwanjoku said stakeholders were planning a joint visit to the Ivo Dam to assess the reservoir and explore possible repairs aimed at preventing further flooding.
“I felt sad the moment I heard about the incident. Most communities in Aninri have been submerged by flooding, such as Okpanku, Mpu, Uhuezeoke in Ndiabor and parts of Ezineshi in Oduma.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain reactions from the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and the Enugu State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, were unsuccessful as of press time.
