Tension in Anambra as flood sacks 1,000 workers in Anambra West, others

www.odogwublog.com reporter Cynthia Chidimma Igbokwe reports that flood yesterday wreaked havoc on Anambra West local government as it sacked no fewer than One thousand people (1000) from the council area including workers at the Nzam headquarters of the council secretariat.


The flood submerged farm lands, several houses and property in Anambra West council area as at press time, the Local Government Secretariat has been covered by flood, above knee level, prompting the officials to evacuate to Umueze Anam.

This temporal abode at Umueze Anam is again being submerged as the flood keeps surging up land.

The newly sworn in chairman of Anambra West, Mr Sylvester Okafor while speaking on the development, called on federal and state agencies charged with containing emergencies of this magnitude, to come to their rescue.

Mr Okafor regretted that farmlands with cassava, yams, and other food crops have been ravaged by the flood, prompting farmers to harvest from other farms prematurely.
The same story is coming from Awka North but it was not clear as at press time.

Meanwhile, the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA has renewed its clarion call on residents of flood prone communities to brace for relocation to Emergency or Holding Centres located in ten local government areas in the state.
In a statement in Awka, the Executive Secretary of SEMA, Chief Paul Odenigbo explained that his clarion call was predicated on the latest Red Alert issued in Abuja by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA, about imminent flood disaster in six states in the country including Anambra.

Chief Odenigbo said communities most likely to be affected in the state are in the Anambra East and West, Ogbaru, Onitsha North and South as well as Ayamelum Local Government areas.

Other flood prone communities are located in Ekwusigo, Ihiala, Awka
North and Idemili South Local Government Areas.

The SEMA boss, however, reiterated that the state government is prepared to give succour to likely victims of the predicted deluge. He stressed the need for residents of riverine communities in the state not to take the warning of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency for granted pointing out that prevention is better than cure.

Chief Odenigbo emphasised that credible reports indicate that the Kainji and Jebba Dams in Northern Nigeria as well as Lagbo Dam in Cameroon are presently overflowing their Dikes, pointing out that water level of the River Niger in Lokoja in Kogi state has exceeded their limits.

The SEMA Executive Secretary insisted that NIHSA's Red Alert on imminent flooding in communities’ bordering the River Niger should not be taken lightly by residents of such areas.