Blocked Waterways Trigger Flood Crisis in Ifite-Awka, Victims Cry for Help

By Kenechukwu Ofomah

While night rains create soothing comfort needed for sound sleep, such rains are always a dread for residents and owners of property along St John Street, Ifite-Awka, Anambra State Capital, due to the challenge of heavy flooding they experience.

A torrential rainfall earlier this week had invaded home steads and public compounds, pulled down structures and destroyed goods and documents valued at over hundreds of millions of Naira, as the occupants counted their losses.

A visit to the area on Tuesday evening by our correspondent, revealed anguish, as the residents were seen carting away property and other valuables destroyed by the flood water.

One of such facilities affected by the flood was the Headquarters of Foursquare Gospel Church, Ifite-Awka, where the entire compound and church building was submerged by flood.

Among items destroyed included musical equipment such as piano, music amplifier and numerous others, as well as church documents and other records.

The District Overseer of the Church, Reverend Sam Ufo, who spoke to newsmen, regretted that although the flooding of the compound was an annual occurrence, the magnitude of that of Monday night has never been witnessed since they came to the area.

He revealed that the church was among the first to develop property in the area and had taken the appropriate design, but regretted that subsequent property owners embarked on designs that have created the flood challenge.

The clergyman accused some property owners in the nearby street of building on waterways designed to collect and discharge floodwater in the area at a nearby canal, noting that since the developments, the area has never ceased to experience flooding.

“We were about the first set of people that developed in this area and we didn’t envisage this kind of flood challenge. When other people started developing, they were raising their foundation and that was why every time it rained, our compound will be flooded.

“We however, raised and fortified our fences to stop the rains from coming into the compound. But the rains of last night pulled down the fences and even that our neighbours, the Redeemed Christian Mission, forcing huge flood into our premises.

“We have also identified that the cause of the perennial flood is because of the blocked drainage system that collects flood water and discharges it at a nearby canal. Some developers bought the waterways, blocked them and built on them, causing the flooding,” he said.

Reverend Ufo appealed to the state and local government authorities to intervene and recover the original waterway which takes water down to the canal, expressing the fear that the problem will be worse, if the government does not prevail on the landlords to remove their structures that are blocking the waterways.

The Chairman of the Street, Uzochukwu Umejiege, lamented that the area usually experience such challenge during rainy seasons, noting that many houses lost so many things, and with the way it is going, it may lead to loss of lives if not checked.
“Farmlands were destroyed, homes were displaced, household items were destroyed, shops were flooded and goods destroyed.

“A major reason for this challenge is due to the topography of the area. Our street is usually worst hit by the flood because it is at the end of the slope.

“We need the government to help us construct a bigger drainage system that will collect water coming from other parts of this Ifite-Awka, so that we are not always at the receiving end,” he pleaded.
For Daniel Nwokolo, a tenant in one of the buildings that were submerged by flood, the challenge is man-made and can be addressed, if only the development control authorities sit up to their responsibilities.

He said, “I have lived here since 2017 and we have not witnessed this kind of flood. And it was caused by the blockage of the drainage. The water is coming from the Old Government House, Second Market and Green House. The gutter here is not up to 2 feet which is not enough to contain the volume of flood coming to this area. We need the government to construct drainage systems that are big enough to accommodate the volume of flood coming here.

“Government should also intensify enforcement and monitoring of development activities to ensure that they conform with the standards and that developers do not undertake actions that will cause problems for co-dwellers in future.”