News
Rainstorm Wreaks Havoc In Rivers, Jigawa …Wike Orders Immediate Assessment Of Damage
Over 200 houses and properties worth millions of Naria were last Monday destroyed by a violent rainstorm in parts of Port Harcourt.
Area worst affected includes the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, the Rumuola Junction, , Iwofe, Ogbogoro, Eliparanwon and Ada George road where some buildings were also deroofed and vehicles damaged by the windstorm.
About 85 high tension poles belonging to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, were destroyed by heavy wind, during the down pour that occurred in Port Harcourt on Monday evening and early yesterday morning.
The Tide gathered that as a result, damaged poles with other associated materials, such as 150mm aluminum conductors spanning over 32,000 metres, several cross arms, among others, have thrown a cross section of Port Harcourt metropolis into darkness.
It was also gathered that roofs of some buildings at Rumuokoro, Rumukwuta and some parts of GRA were destroyed.
Confirming the incident, the Manager, Corporate Communication of PHED, John Onyi said in the wake of the loss, two 33kv and five 11kv feeders namely; UST 33kv and Rumuola” 33kv, were affected.
“Others on 11kv were Rumuomoi, Federal, Wokoma, Bori Camp and Rumuola,” he said.
Reacting to the natural disaster that culminated to the loss of supply to the affected areas, OnyiI said the Acting Chief Executive Officer, PHED, Syed Taha has appealed to the residents to exercise patience, while the damaged poles are being replaced.
He assured customers in the affected areas that the management would do everything possible to ensure early restoration of power supply despite thousands of naira that it would cost PHED to do so.
According to him, ”It is regrettable that PHED is facing such a loss at this moment, due to natural disaster but I can guarantee that supply will be restored to the affected areas soonest, because we have taken stock of the extent of the damage and sourcing of materials for rehabilitation has started in earnest “.
In the same vein, the firm sympathised with the members of the public who may have lost one item or the other during the heavy rain.
He however, reminded the general public of the dangers of trading or erecting structures under high tension lines urging them to always obey safety rules especially during this raining season.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen, the Reactor of Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic Dr. Samuel Kalagbor said that over seven buildings in the polytechnic were devoured by the rainstorm. Dr Kalagbor who said that although no life was lost to the incident, said that the situation was affected the semester examination as students were in the hall writing examination when the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has confirmed that no life was lost in the incident. Commissioner for special duties, Emeka Onowunka said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt also cautioned residents of the state against trying to remove property during such an incident.
Onowu said that the issue of safety should be the paramount concern of all before thinking of property. Also speaking, the state commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja said that the incident is a natural disaster, stressing that the Federal Government should assist the state
Worried by the devastating windstorm that wreaked havoc in some parts of the state, last Monday, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has directed the immediate assessment of the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Port Harcourt, to ascertain the level of damage done on the institution with a view to remedying the situation.
The state Commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja stated this when he led the permanent secretary and other management staff of the ministry to pay an on-the-spot assessment visit to the polytechnic, yesterday.
Gogo-Jaja disclosed that the governor had directed the ministry and his special duties counterpart to immediately visit the school and other affected areas in the state for immediate action.
According to him, the state government would intervene within the shortest possible time to ensure that the destroyed infrastructures were put back in place in order not disrupt academic activities and programmes in the institution.
He averred that the governor was committed to addressing the present challenges as soon as possible, and urged the students to bear with the management’s decision to suspend the ongoing examinations due to the unfortunate natural disaster.
Over 100 houses and property worth millions of naira were destroyed by a windstorm which ravaged some communities in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa.
Two village heads, Alhaji Ado Musa and Alhaji Baffa Shehu, told newsmen in Dutse yesterday that the windstorm, which occurred on May 3, wreaked considerable havoc on the neighbourhoods.
Musa, who is the village head of Warwade community, said that the windstorm destroyed about 27 houses in Sayasaya, a village under Warwade, and blew off the roofs of some schools and mosques.
He added that the windstorm had rendered about 30 families homeless, while destroying several local silos containing assorted foodstuff.
“Each year, we experience cyclone, windstorm or rainstorm at the beginning, middle or end of every rainy season but the storms have not been as damaging as the recent one.
“This time around, the windstorm is so heavy that it completely brought down some houses and blew up roofs of schools, mosques and clinics.
“Over 20 villages are affected by the disaster but the worst-hit is Sayasaya where between 30 and 35 households are affected.
“‘No death was recorded in the incident; however, seven persons were injured by roofing sheets that were blown off by the wind.
“Some of the victims had multiple fractures in different parts of their bodies and were taken to Dutse General Hospital for treatment.
“At least, the value of what the people lost in Sayasaya is about N5 million and some of the affected families are currently taking refuge in the village primary school,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Shehu, the village head of Jidawa community, said that the windstorm destroyed over 80 houses in his domain.
He said that the windstorm which lasted for close to an hour, destroyed several fences and blew off the roofs of houses, schools, mosques and a clinic.
“The rainstorm began around 5:30 p.m. and lasted for about an hour.
“At least, 80 houses were affected and we thank God it did not injure or kill anyone here but it caused a lot of damage in Sayasaya and Warwade villages that are close to us.
“The windstorm could have destroyed the whole area if it continued for more than an hour; in fact we have never experienced such a severe windstorm before.
“It was accompanied by heavy rainfall and we started planting crops the following day because of the level of rainfall the previous day,’’ Shehu said.
Our correspondent, who visited the two villages, reports that the storm pulled down the roofs of several houses, forcing many families to vacate their homes.
Several fences were also affected, thereby exposing the belongings of the affected households.
Some of the affected residents, who look visibly devastated, told newsmen that they needed urgent assistance, in terms of shelter and food aid.
In Jidawa village, Alhaji Garba Adamu and Malam Kawu Yakubu, expressed concern about problems the residents would face following the impact of the rainstorm.
They said that the entire area had been thrown into confusion as a result of the damage done to the residents’ properties.
“Most of the houses suffer from one dent or the other, no matter how little it was. As you can see, some roofs were blown off, while some fences were completely brought down,’’ Adamu said.
In Sayasaya village, Malam Ali Beza, the head of a household, said: “We slept outside that day, as the wind blew and pulled down the roof of our house.
“Up to this moment, we have never been able to sleep comfortably; this is a large family house as you can see.
“We are 19 in the house: my family and the families of three of my children.’’
Malam Ibrahim Danjuma, another resident of Sayasaya village, said: “My two-year-old child was almost killed as the roof the building fell on him; three of my rooms as well as the silos containing foodstuff and one sheep were destroyed.
“Many people have vacated their homes due to the level of destruction caused by the windstorm because we cannot live in houses without roofs.
“‘In fact, we learnt that many households in neighbouring villages were similarly affected but we are happy no single death was recorded during the incident.’’
Malam Salisu Jigo, another resident, said that his wife and son were injured in the incident.
“As you can see, the roof was pulled down and the debris injured my wife and my son; I also got injured while trying to put out the fire caused by the windstorm and stop it from escalating and consuming the whole house.
“But we thank God, we only had minor injuries and cuts; we did not have fractures,’’ he added.
Jigo said that the affected families and other residents were calling for assistance from relevant government agencies.
“Government and other relevant authorities should immediately come to our aid, particularly in the area of shelter and food.
“This is because most of us have no place to stay again; we also have no food to eat, as most of our silos containing foodstuff have been destroyed,’’ he said.
However, Musa, the village head of Warwade, said that he had compiled a comprehensive list of the victims of the windstorm and had submitted it to the District Head of Dutse.
He added that the village head of Jidawa stated that he was still compiling the list of those affected in his domain.
“Due to the current economic situation, the government and other relevant authorities should expedite action to assist these villagers because they urgently need assistance, particularly food and shelter,’’ Musa said.
When contacted, Alhaji Sani Yusuf, the Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), confirmed the incident.
“I am sending my staff right now to conduct an assessment of the level of damage caused by the windstorm.
“We would have intervened since but there have been some delays but I assure you that within a couple of days, we will surely assist them,’’ he said.
Akujobi Amadi, Ike Wigodo
