By Mark Lenu
The people of Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State are calling for help, following the invasion of their communities by flood.
The General Secretary of Isua Joinkrama, in Ahoada West, Comrade Wisdom Owolo told our correspondent that the four communities that make up Joinkrama have been taken over by flood.
He said the flood had submerged scores of houses, adding that the water level is still rising and would soon affect the school buildings in the area.
“My area is flooded as I speak. So many houses have been affected, forcing residents to look for alternative places to stay.
“This is what we suffer every year and we want the government to proffer lasting solutions to this perennial flooding that comes to destroy lives and property every year,” Owolo said.
The area is surrounded by the Orashi River where the flood that is disturbing the people of Ahoada is reported to have been coming from and it occurs yearly.
2012 was reported to have been one of the worst floods in decades, leading to the death of several persons and property worth billions of naira destroyed by flood.
People especially women and minors were reported to have drowned, while others were bitten by snakes in 2012. The flood also forced the farmers to harvest their crops prematurely.
Some of the schools that were destroyed by the previous flood have not been renovated to date. The report revealed that some schools in the area don’t have classroom desks for learning as students are said to have been sitting on bare floors to learn.
