As residents of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State reel under the weight of the harsh effects of the lockdown imposed on the area by Governor Nyesom Wike, the heavy rains that descended on the island in the past few days have left many homes flooded.
From Ukpo Avenue where the Government Lodge was swamped in flood to Macaulay Street where many residents woke up to find their homes enmeshed in rising waters. Same tragedy befell resident of Onwokiri (Sandfilled) Community, Young Christian Close, New Jerusalem Road, King Jaja Street, New Layout Road, Vitch Street, Shell Pipeline, Akiama Community, and Cable Road, among others.
Checks by Kristina Reports show that majority of the drainages around the LGA were either blocked by waste materials dumped inside them or not interconnected thus making it impossible to evacuate flood waters.
For instance, the drainage along King Jaja Street connects with that of Moore Jackson Street but has a dead end at Industrial Unit junction, while that of Ukpo Avenue which also connects with that of Moore Jackson evacuates into the drainage at Macaulay Street but due to refuse dumped inside it the water does not evacuate.
The Flooding Debacle in Bonny Island. Photo Credits: Queeneth Sokari, Lancelot Allison, Tamunoipirinye Green, Gladden Dan-Jumbo, and Michael George-Hart
At the Hospital Road axis of Vitch Street, the flood waters coming from the Government School axis of the street does not evacuate successfully due to, first, the downward slant of the street which also affected the drainage, and secondly, the culvert at Hospital Road under which the water was supposed to evacuate into the Bishop Dimieari Waterfront is blocked by sand and debris thus effectively shutting down that axis.
This creates a flood cul-de-sac at the bend on Vitch adjacent to the back gate of Government School, which has continued to swamp the homes of residents around the area.
Some of the residents who spoke with Kristina Reports called on the State and Local Governments to come to their aid, lamenting that should the rains continue many of them would not have anywhere to call home.
A trader, who identified himself as Ibiwari, at the Shell Pipeline area regretted that around the town there was no functional drainage system, calling on the Chairman of the LGA to intervene to save their homes from being carried away by the raging flood.
At Young Christian Close off the New Finima Road, residents had their homes and appliances drenched in the flood with nowhere to go. A resident, Queeneth Sokari called on the authorities via her Facebook post to come to their aid and save them from the ravaging flood in the area.
At Cable Road, another resident, who preferred anonymity, lamented that for ages residents of the area have been suffering the debacle of flooding resulting from rainfall and rising tide as the area is bounded on the Eastern flank by a creek, which unleashes water from its high tide into houses around the area.
At Park Community, the story is the same, especially, around the Local Government Quarters where the drainage has been blocked by debris, thus subjecting residents of the area to untold suffering.
Some other residents, Tamunoipirinye Green, Lancelot Allison, Michael George-Hart, Gladden Dan-Jumbo, among others, lamented the deplorable flooding situation in Bonny and the unbearable suffering residents have to undergo whenever the rains fall, urging the relevant authorities to act fast to save the residents the agony of this constant flooding of their homes.
I reside at King Jaja Street and the flood is really affecting us. The drainage is supposed to pass through the Industrial Unit field down to the creek there but instead they diverted the drainage to someone’s compound thus causing a gully erosion which affects the residents of that yard. Please the authorities should do something about channeling the water to the nearby creek behind Industrial Unit, this will help to check or minimize the flood along King Jaja Street and the compounds around there. Thanks