Flood kills mother of three, other in Anambra

A mother of three and another person have lost their lives in a flood disaster at Ugwu Mkpume Layout, Achalla Agu community in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The victims were said to be asleep when the flood suddenly broke into their various apartments and swept them away. They were later found dead in another location.

The flood, BusinessDay gathered, was caused by the over 11-hour rains that fell from Thursday till in the early hours of Friday last week.

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Many buildings in the area were submerged while properties estimated at millions of naira were destroyed, with several farmlands washed away.

It was also gathered that the flood covered the whole area while some families living on the first floors of some storey buildings were trapped as the flood submerged their houses.

Ifeanyi Oghota, vice president, Ugwu Mkpume Achalla Agu Landlords’ Association, described the incident as disastrous.

He lamented that the good intentions of the state government in constructing roads had “turned to sorrow due to wrong channelling of the flood” by the construction company that handled the road project at Inland.

Also reacting, Chuka Obi, one of the landlords in the area said, “This is what we woke up to see on Friday morning. The floods caused by the heavy rains on Thursday broke into our houses and damaged properties and farmlands. I am a pig farmer, it swept away my pigs.

“The flood pulled down many fences and walls. It also broke into a building where a family of five were living. The flood entered their apartment while they were asleep, and carried the mother and her three children away, their father managed to escape. It was in the morning that residents saw the lifeless body of the woman.

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“The bodies of the three children were also found somewhere else in another location, fortunately, they were still alive as of the time they were found and they were quickly rushed to the emergency unit at the Royal Hospital, Nkpor, where they are recovering.

“A lifeless body of another yet-to-be-identified man was also found in the flood. He must have also been swept away from his compound to that place. The losses as a result of the flood are very devastating and heartbroken. Houses were submerged and properties were destroyed. We have never experienced this type in the last 25 years.

“It is caused by the construction firm that channelled stormwaters coming from Ogidi, Umunachi, Eke Nkpor and Obosi to the layout which cannot accommodate such heavy flood instead of channelling it to the River Niger”.

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The residents, therefore, appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, to come to their rescue, saying that the flood from Ogidi, Umunachi, Eke Nkpor and Obosi communities is now channelled to their layout that has no Sacamori to accommodate such heavy flood.