Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Tuesday, September 21, 2021, will remain indelible in the memories of residents of Rivers State, following the heavy rain that led to flash floods in various local government areas of the state. Many have christened it the worst flood ever witnessed in the Government Residential Areas (GRA), including the complex of the Rivers State Judiciary and the headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), as they were all submerged.
The popular Spar supermarket, located just beside the Rivers Government House on Azikiwe Road, was overtaken by flood which also turned the entire area into a single body of water, having covered the roads.
The flood disrupted business activities at the popular supermarket, as water level covered the parking lot and flowed into shops on the ground floor, forcing owners and operators of shops at the ground floor to seek refuge at the upper levels of the shopping complex.
The entire stretch of Odili Road in Port Harcourt metropolis, hitherto notorious for flooding, surpassed all expectations, as vehicles were submerged while no part of the road was passable to either vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
Also, several areas of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, like Ada-George and Mgbuoba were heavily submerged.
THISDAY findings revealed that other 14 local government areas were affected by the flood were Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Asari Toru, Akuku Toru, Etche, Eleme, Abua/Odual, Andoni, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Khana, Oyigbo, Okrika, Tai, and Ogu/Bolo.
A victim of the incident, residing at Ada-George area, simply identified as Mama Tamunosaki, who spoke with THISDAY, narrated how the rain which started at about 5am in her area resulted into heavy flooding that destroyed her entire property.
She lamented that despite the fact that some of the flats in her compound were on reasonably high ground; the flood invaded all the nine flats in her compound causing different degrees of damage to homes.
She said; “I am in a very bad state of mind now as the flood has rendered us homeless. We had a warning experience very early in the month but we thought it was all over. This morning rain is the heaviest I have witnessed in a very long time.”
She said the flood was so heavy that it broke down fences surrounding them and cascaded into their compound, reaching almost window level.
“The flood level was just short of rising up to the window level with all our property floating, including our refrigerator. We could not salvage anything; we only took the children and ran out of the house. We attempted to see if we could recover some things but the flood carried the refrigerator and blocked the door. We had to abandon everything and run for our lives,” the mother of two wailed.
She wondered how they would have coped if the rains were at night, stressing that she would no longer live in that area because of her bitter experiences with flood.
The residents are now afraid of the sad incident repeating itself which may spell doom to them and called for a permanent solution to the perennial flooding.
Warnings on the Flood
Following the 2021 Nigerian Metrological Agency (NiMET) and the Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) warnings of adverse weather predictions across the country and in particular Rivers State, the state government had advised local government Chairmen and respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) to prepare for emergency situations in flood-prone communities across the state.
Reactions on the flood incident
Following lamentations of residents on the adverse effects of the flood, council chairmen, NEMA officials, relevant MDAs in Port Harcourt and Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo went into a closed door meeting.
Tammy, who represented the Governor, Nyesom Wike at the emergency meeting, stressed that the parley was necessary in order to prepare for emergencies that may arise as a result of flood situations in the state, particularly considering the precarious position of Rivers State in the predictions of NiMET and its geological position at the bank of the Atlantic Ocean.
Danagogo informed the council Chairmen that, as Chief Security Officers of their localities, they must be proactive in facing and overcoming the challenges of their residents in the time of the flood.
He stressed that NEMA, which had catalogued the diverse challenges of emergency management during floods, needed the collaboration of the council chairmen, who know their communities better.
“His Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike, has directed me to interface with NEMA, council chairmen, and relevant ministries to guarantee that all parties know their roles in order to avert the expected flood that may result in the displacement of our people.
“I believe that by the time you synergise your experiences with the expertise from NEMA, we should be able to work and provide solutions against flood disaster in our state,” he said.
Also reacting, the 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr Dakuku Peterside, urged Governor Wike to urgently reactivate the drainage master plan of the state as a way of tackling the flood issue.
Lamenting the untold hardship Rivers people had suffered as a result of the flooding, the former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said the state government failed to give attention to early warning signals from NIMET but rather choose to put the blame on Rivers people.
Dakuku lamented: “Our people are traumatised, a lot of persons are displaced, we have lost several goods and properties estimated at over N3 billion, social and economic life has been disrupted because the state government slept off, our people are suffering.
“The governor awards projects from his office without going through the due process and the very important Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which have unfortunately led to pain and agony for the people.”
An environmental expert, Dr Sam Kabari blamed the increased flooding in Rivers State on increased volume of rains, indiscriminate land reclamation, development on water channel and swampy areas of the state by both government and individuals
Kabari said: “This is just the beginning of what is to be experienced in terms of flooding in Rivers, particularly in Port Harcourt and the reasons are not far-fetched.
“The first reason why we continue to experience high level of flooding is because Rivers State is one city state. Everybody wants to live in Port Harcourt and the infrastructure that support a standard of living at that level is only found in Port Harcourt. And so people cannot live in other places. What that has caused is that we have a high population density in Port Harcourt.
“Another reason is that we do not have an effective town planning system in Rivers State. You can build a house anywhere you see in Rivers State, without considering if it is water ways.
“Also, we have an inadequate or weak waste management system. The sensitisation on waste management is very low and people throw their wastes in carnal, drainage, and when water comes, the canal overflows. The canals are blocked where government has reclaimed. Government goes without impact assessment and reclaims wetlands.”
Findings and Recommendations
The South-South Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Godwin Tepikor noted that it was important the state prepares for the looming flood that will affect the local governments adversely.
Tepikor told THISDAY that by the second week of November, the rains would be adverse and urged all persons in flood-prone communities to be prepared and move out to designated camps if need be.
“The residents play a role in excalating flooding. Over time, we have looked at flood as socially constructed because of our values, attitudes and practices. A situation where residents engage in indiscriminate disposal, use the waterways as a place for refuse disposal, at the end of the day those refuse end somewhere, in the water bodies. They block the water, drainage and canal channels and impact swift flow of water.
“Residents should imbibe good sanitary habits. Do not dump refuse in the gutters or build on water channels. Such crude habits will only compound flood situations across the state. I think if they do these, the effect of flooding might not be much.”
He also disclosed that the agency was in partnership with the state government at the local level to seek solutions in reducing the consequence of flooding across the state.
“Local governments in the state will partner NEMA to identify the far higher grounds, where temporary shelters can be set up. In the event that there is displacement; people in those vulnerable communities will have to be moved and it is important that is done early because the predictions have started coming true. So, if there has to be any evacuation it has to be now before it becomes too late,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has begun the process of checking the flooding. The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Paulinus Nsirim, disclosed that the state government was working with relevant agencies to roll out a plan that would check perennial flooding in the state.
Nsirim said those living and doing business in Rivers State would play their part in line with the programme that would be executed by government to address the problem.
The Information Commissioner frowned at the residents of Port Harcourt, turning the drainage systems into refuse bins, “and that is not what it should be.”
