River Niger Tide Sacks Asaba Residents ...Houses, churches evacuated

Panic-stricken residents in some parts of Asaba, Delta State, have begun evacuating from their houses as rising tide from River Niger has inundated many houses, churches, business premises and streets.

Abuta quarters, which lies on the bank of River Niger is one of the areas badly hit by the rising water of the river as residents have mobilised tricycles and wooden canoes in their apparent desperation to escape from the looming disaster.

The pastor of Pasture of Life Church, one of the buildings heavily flooded in the Abuta quarters on Wednesday, when  visited the area, was busy evacuating whatever he could savage with the help of some members.

He however declined to talk with reporters, saying simply ''I am very busy as you can see.''

Deeper Life Church and Celica Church of Christ buildings in the area were also deserted alongside other residential houses in the area as they had been submerged by Thursday evening.

Some residents, who claimed that they had already moved their valuable  things to safer areas in higher parts of the city and neighboring communities.

A wooden canoe was being used to ferry household items from a compound with several houses in flooded neighborhood.

A woman who identified herself simply as Mama Faith and Mr James Dubem, said they started evacuating their family and property on Tuesday evening as the rooms and parts of their houses were completely taken over by water coming in from the Niger.

Mama Faith lamented that her children had not eaten since Thursday morning because they were moving out things from their houses and there was no place to cook since last night.... water has covered the whole house.'' 

Although, the respondents told reporter that the water was from the Niger, but some of them claimed ignorance of repeated warning by the state government and the relevant agencies on the flooding and the need for people to move out of low-lying, flood-prone areas.

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA) has for some time now alerted Nigerians particularly in flood-prone areas including Delta, Anambra and Kogi States, to impending flooding that might compare to the disastrous flooding in Nigeria in 2012.

In readiness for the impending flood as predicted by the NIHSA, the Delta State Government is to establish emergency camps in Asaba, Kwale, Ughelli, Sapele and Warri.

The Commissioner, Bureau for Special Duties, Mr Earnest Ogwezzy, disclosed this when the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) paid him a courtesy visit in Asaba on Wednesday.

Ogwezzy disclosed that the agency in its preparedness plan, had identified possible safe grounds that could be used to set up Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), camps and had also sent a memo to the governor, requesting to stock its warehouse with perishable and non-perishable items to be used as relief items to the prospective victims.

According to him, “As a result, the Delta State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), felt is expedient to inform all stakeholders in Delta State to ensure that they are on red alert and all hands on deck in preparing for the flooding that had already commenced as predicted by NIHSA so as to reduce the effect of the flooding to the barest minimum”

“In addition to this, sensitization jingles to enlighten Deltans, particularly riverine communities of the state on the dangers of the impending flood and for them to evacuate their homes is currently on-going in the State” he said.

He warned of steady daily rise in the water level in Rivers Niger and Benue which could result in fresh flooding in riverine communities on