…Relocate from flood prone areas -PPA

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From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Flood from the River Niger has destroyed farms worth N30 million in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
It was gathered that a man whose yam farm was washed away attempted suicide by drinking substance suspected to be chemical. He was saved by  neighbours who rushed him to the hospital. The traditional ruler of Atani, Igwe Augustine Azuka Ngoddy said the incident took the community by surprise as it normally happens in October.
“I was told that two of my subjects attempted suicide; one of them drank chemical but was saved by neighbours who poured palm oil into his mouth to dilute the effect of the substance before they rushed him to nearby hospital. This is because his yam farms were overran by flood. I don’t expect that anybody should take his life because of natural disaster, we, as humans, don’t have control over them.
“From rough data we have collected, we lost about N30 million to the flood. All the farms at the river banks have been destroyed by the flood. So, the people were forced to harvest their yams which normally, do not happen every year; most times, the river will remain calm until October before it will rise. Before then, the farmers would have finished harvesting their yams and other crops. The flood came earlier this year,” he stated.
He said some villagers, like Agwi village and those living in the River Niger Island have started relocating to the upland to avoid total disaster when it overflows its bank again this year.
“We are hoping that it will not be as bad as pulling everybody out. What we have done so far is to sensitise our people that the river may rise to a threat level. Governor’s office, through the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has informed the traditional rulers to sensitise the villagers on the possible flood and they should not relax until they are overwhelmed,” he said.
Meanwhile, leader of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in the state, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo has appealed to residents of flood prone areas of Ayamelum, Anambra East and Anambra West, Ogbaru, Onitsha North and South, Ihiala, Ekwusigo, Idemili South and Awka North to relocate to the government designated Internally Displaced Persons camps before the flood overruns their areas.
Ezeemo said early relocation of riverine communities would help to avoid a repeat of 2012 experience where millions of lives and property were lost to flood due to poor preparations in the state.
“I witnessed the 2012 flood disaster in the state and did not wish anyone, even a presumed enemy to experience it. My heart bled on reaching the sites. The elderly, pregnant women, children youths were left in confusion for months.”
We cannot afford to put  our people through same agony a second time, so we need to make haste while the sun shines.”