No fewer than 20 houses including farmlands have been destroyed by flooding following the heavy rains in Calabar.
The heavy rains which started at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening to the early hours yesterday, also forced some residents in Calabar South to vacate their homes for safety.
Assessing the extent of the flooding in parts of Calabar South yesterday, acting Director General of Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Princewill Ayim, told newsmen that “most of the houses affected were erected along the waterways’’.
Ayim said that the flooding affected parts of Calabar South including Target road, Ebito, Atu, Musaha, Murray and other streets including farmlands at Anantigha by Slaughter road.
According to him, some residents of the affected areas have been temporarily displaced from their homes.
He added that the agency had continued sensitisation on the need to shun erection of buildings along the waterways.
He said that although no life was lost in the flood, economic activities and farming were affected and property worth millions of Naira were destroyed.
“The heavy rains that fell between last night and the early hours of today have caused havoc in parts of Calabar South. Over 20 houses were flooded and property worth millions of Naira destroyed.
“At Anantigha street in Calabar South, over five farmlands were destroyed by the flooding and the farmers can no longer harvest their crops because most of the crops like maize and cassava were uprooted by the flooding prematurely.
“Also, the flood had caused an artificial lake behind the Anantigha market and over 15 houses are said to be in danger because the scope of the artificial lake is expanding every time it rains heavily.
“I want to appeal to the Federal Government, the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) and other relevant government agencies to intervene in this artificial lake by constructing standard drainages to direct the water ways,’’ he said.