An unprecedented flood has wreaked havoc in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, destroying over 350 houses and displacing about 1,000 persons.
The ravaging flood, which occurred following a six-hour downpour yesterday morning, adversely affected mobility in most parts of the city.
Areas worst hit by the flood include Target-Goldie and Mayne Avenue, Marian road, Diamond Hill axis, Ete-Agbor street MCC, Wapi junction Marian and Ediba within Calabar South and Municipal council.
Also affected were Yellow Duke, some departments in the University of Calabar and the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) staff quarters in Calabar South Local Government which were submerged.
The flood destroyed valuable household items and goods worth several millions of naira, and sacked the residents from their homes.
Items including electrical appliances, mattresses, kitchen utensils, clothes and foodstuffs were seen floating just as some were washed away.
When Daily Sun visited the Goldie-Target area, some of the residents affected were seen trying to salvage some of their belongings while children and the elderly trapped in the flood were being evacuated to nearby Bogobiri community and open spaces along Goldie s,treet for safety.
Some of the victims said that they were taken by surprise as it occurred in the early hours of the day when many of them could not salvage their properties.
Checks revealed that most of the residents including women and children spent the night in the open, while some of them wept profusely over their losses.
The flooding was principally caused by blocked drainages and the narrow nature of some channels which could not contain the high volume of water.
One of victims, Mrs. Theresa Idum, a widow, lamented the loss of her property which collapsed due to the flood. She appealed to the State Government to help her rebuild the house.
Mrs. Idum said: “I have lost all that I labored for. Nothing is left for me. Please let government help me.”
Another victim, Mrs. Grace Minika, whose compound of five buildings were ravaged and part of the walls pulled down, said that the flood found its way to their homes through a broken wall on another street.
Assessing the extent of the damage, the Director Genera of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Vincent Aquah, said it was high time residents started taking some precautionary measures especially as we approach the rainy season.
He promised to liaise with relevant agencies to tackle the problem.
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