Coastal communities in Akwa Ibom State are facing a threat of perennial flooding with property worth millions destroyed and washed away following heavy rainfall lasting hours.
One of the worst hit communities is in Eket metropolis where a road linking several parts of the local government headquarters has been submerged.
In other parts of the city, residents of Health Centre road in Ikot Udoma, close to another collapsed road in Mkpok community, Eket have been displaced by raging flooding.
Houses around the vicinity of the Health Centre have been submerged, with other property worth millions of naira destroyed.
The flooding has been attributed to continuous downpours made worst by the impact of climate change and global warming.
BusinessDay also gathered that poor drainage systems and narrow channels have been unable to accommodate the high volume of water from the area.
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Checks also showed that the road in which a particular section has collapsed was only recently constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Speaking, one of the residents affected by the flooding, Edem Bassey said when the road around his house was being constructed, he called the attention of the construction firm to the narrow and shallow nature of the drainage but was rebuffed by the site engineer from the company.
He called on the state government to come to the rescue of the residents of the area through remedial work to avoid a looming disaster.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had predicted heavy rains in the coming weeks.
Speaking during the last executive council meeting presided over by Governor Udom Emmanuel, the state government had directed the ministry of environment to take urgent steps to repair the failed section of the road.
