Flood destroys property worth millions of naira in Cross River

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Persistent rainfall in Cross River State in the last three weeks as foretold by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency has destroyed property worth millions of naira in different parts of the state.

The cost of the property destroyed by the attendant flood was put at over N90 million by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), yet the state still has four months of intense rain ahead before the end of the year.

The state's director-general of SEMA, Vincent Aquah, who revealed this in Calabar said the persistent rain for the past one week has further compounded the socio-economic problems of the people of the state.

Mr Aquah said over 40 houses in Calabar and its suburbs have been overtaken by flood, rendering over 500 persons homeless while over 1060 farms were destroyed in various parts of the state.

The local governments areas mostly affected include: Calabar South and Calabar Municipality, Obubra, Biase, Yakurr, Ikom, and Akampa.

The SEMA boss said that based on the Nigerian Meteorological Agency's (NIMET) predictions for higher rainfall this year, more devastating rainstorms would occur that could culminate in displacements.

He, however, expressed confidence that with the adherence to the statutory obligation of the state government in meeting the needs of disaster victims, affected persons are assured of the state government's prompt intervention.

According to him, the SEMA is statutorily empowered to respond to disasters across the state, stating that the staff are on red alert on this mandate.

Mr Aquah noted that though the challenges facing the agency especially in the area of mobility are worrisome, the staff would get to any length to carry out rapid assessment and other intervention measures.

The director general, however, advised the people to urgently contact relevant authorities for rescue whenever there is serious flooding and to vacate such places in order to avoid loss of lives.

A victim of the flood in Calabar, Veronica Duke (51) said their entire compound was heavily flooded with the level of water in their rooms up to waist level.

A visit to the compound showed that the flood had dumped refuse gathered on the streets into the houses.

The ravaging rainstorm washed away food crops such as yams, cassava, cocoa yams, corns, melons and rice in some local government areas of the state.

Mr Aquah re-emphasised that one of the antidotes to the effect of the flooding is clearing of drainages which he said must be strictly adhered to.

question is, could all this disasters be avoided...i think so.

so what's the problem?..whom do we blame?