Port Harcourt Flooding: Residents Seek Govt Intervention

Following the heavy down pour that took place in Port Harcourt on Tuesday and the attendant flooding that overtook the metropolis, a town planning expert, Dr. Chris Ibeakuzie and some residents have tasked the authorities to intervene.

Dr. Ibeakuzie barred his mind over the development in a chat with The Tide on Wednesday.  He observed that the authorities should take swift action to check the menacing flooding before the rain fully sets in.

His words: “First and foremost I would urge government to identify the natural drains, then they can be placed on the map.  Once the natural drains are identified, they should link them to man-made drains”.

According to him, the flooding would persist until development laws are being enforced by the authorities to check haphazard building construction by residents.

Meanwhile, some residents of Rumuola have called on town planning authorities to intervene in their area by constructing a big canal that would channel the water from Airforce Base and Bori Camp to the Nkpogu canal at Trans-Amadi.

Some of the residents who spoke to The Tide few hours after their neighbourhood was overtaken by flood on Tuesday. Mr. John Wonodi of Wonodi Street observed that unless the government intervenes residents would be pushed to vacate the area.

From Wonodi Street stretching to the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries premises was overtaken by the flood leading to huge loss of properties worth millions of naira by residents.

Mr. Wonodi blamed the development to haphazard building construction and lack of drainage in the area.

He said, “all the waters coming from Aba Road axis descend to this area.  This place used to have a stream but now land buyers have bought over the whole place and blocked it with their fences so there is no way the water would follow”.

The same view was expressed by Ms. Matilda Eneh, who lost most of her properties to the flood.

Eneh disclosed that she had only resided in the vicinity for three months.

She lamented that if the rain persists then more of the residents living within the area would be forced to leave and therefore called on government to quickly open a channel for the water to pass.