Kamsi Anayo, Awka
13 communities in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State have been submerged by flood.
Also, over 300 families have been rendered homeless by the raging flood in the area.
The flooding which occurs yearly has created much pain and hardship for the residents as farmers have lost all their produce to the incident.
It was gathered that schools, churches, markets and farm lands as well as residential houses in the communities have been submerged as some of the residents have relocated to neighbouring communities.
The worst hit communities by the flood are Ogwuikpele and Akali Ogidi communities located at the fringe of the River Niger.
Other communities affected include Atani, Osamala, Umu- Uzu which are also at the coastal lines of the River Niger.
According to the President-General of Ogwuikpele community, Mr Madupuo Sunday Victor, the communities are in a disaster and there is a need to find a permeant solution to the yearly problem.
“As it stands now a lot of homes have been lost and several families have relocated and the number is more than three hundred based on the ones we can easily remember.
“We are living very close to the River Niger and it has overflown its banks and this is just the beginning. We do not have any Internally Displaced Camps where these people can stay.
“We need medical attention and we also need relief materials because the children and nursing mothers are now vulnerable to all kinds of diseases,” he said.
The President-General of the Akiri-Ogidi community, Comrade Micheal Chukwuse described the menace as one that has caused untold hardship to the people in the area.
“We call on both the federal and state government to come to our help at the moment because we do not have the presence of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). We cannot shoulder the responsibility alone.
“What we are facing in our communities is one that has left us helpless and hopeless to a point that hunger and if not starvation is dealing with our people because of the flood,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Anambra state Commissioner for Environment Mr Felix Odumegwu has announced that the state government has commenced inspection and understudy of the affected communities, noting that soon the Internally Displaced Camps would be established for the victims.
“Flooding is an act of nature and it is a natural disaster but we started early to carry out awareness campaigns before the flood and we are currently interfacing with the NEMA and our own SEMA to assist flood victims ”
Odumegwu further said that Medical teams have been deployed to the affected communities to assist the victims.