Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
A midnight downpour yesterday wreaked havoc on a section of Ado Ekiti capital and cut off certain part of the metropolis from the main city.
Areas affected included Ureje on Polytechnic Road and other adjoining communities like Boom Town, Eminrin and Ijelu village, fondly called Aba Oyinbo by commuters.
The downpour began at about 8:00pm on Tuesday and fell throughout the night until the dawn of Wednesday.
A resident of the area, Mr. Idowu Adaramoye, said the bridge on Ado-Ijan-Ikare Road, which also linked the capital to the federal polytechnic region was overran by flood.
He said commuters had to packed their vehicles at nearby filling stations and waited until the rain subsided.
The source said the flood also surged into a church and about five houses located within the vicinity of Ureje Bridge.
“Nobody could cross that bridge to the polytechnic side or go into Ado Ekiti. Most of the residents had to wake up to have a glimpse of the ravaging fast moving water.”
Also, residents of the Boom Town, Eminrin, had to stay indoors till 12 noon before they could cross Ureje stream that devastated their environment.
Chairman of the community, Oladimeji, appealed to government to dredge the stream to prevent recurrence.
“This Ureje stream was dredged about three years ago, but the job was not well done and the effect is what we are feeling today.
“About four houses could have been destroyed, but for our communal efforts. We concrete Ureje bridge that linked us with Oke Ila region.
“The government need to dredge river to reduce the water level,” he said.
Residents of Ikere Ekiti also felt a dose of the flood as it rendered many homeless while property worth millions of naira were destroyed.
The affected areas in the second largest city are: Kajola Adun Ogbon in Oke Osun, Alade filling station Area in Odo Oja.