Flood Sacks Sapele Residents

By Valerie Oyibo-Itie

Residents in some parts of Sapele main town have called on the authorities for help as flood sacked them from their homes suspected to have been caused by blocked drains channelling water to a residential area instead of a drainage canal.

The flood situation in most areas in Sapele has reached an alarming state as many residents find it difficult to get to their homes.

The continued downpour has many areas flooded and many houses submerged with no solace in sight.

At Ikpereva Road, Okirigbaga, behind Tosenat Arena, flood water took over the area sacking residents from their homes.

It was observed that the flood might have been caused by the ongoing road construction behind Orodje Grammar School at Shell Road that leads to Okirigbaga as the drains constructed are not linked to any outlet canal, instead it is channelled to the residential areas currently experiencing flooding.

Residents of the affected area confirmed that this was the first time in their stay at that part of Sapele, that they were experiencing flooding and called on the contractor handling the construction work, Sapele local government Chairman, Hon. Eugune Inoaghan, the Ministry of Environment and all relevant authorities to act and save them from untold hardship.

It will be recalled that in February this year, Clement Nze, Director General, Nigeria Hydrological Serves Agency (NHISA) at a maiden news conference called on stakeholders to start preparing for 2020 flooding season in order to avoid the “Fire Brigade’ approach, by opening up the drainage or create drainage paths where there are none.

Nze recalled that on January 21, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) released its 2020 seasonal rainfall prediction (SRP), to tell Nigerians when the rains will start, the earliest onset and the cessation date.

In that prediction, it was noted that there will be longer spell of rainfall in the year 2020.