No fewer than six communities, including some government primary and secondary schools have been engulfed by a surging flood in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This is even as the Eze Igbu Ubie of Ubie Kingdom of Ahoada West Local Government Area, Eze Okpokiri Augustine Maxwell, has cried out for help to salvage his people from being completely submerged, and blamed the Federal Government for failing to do the necessary things to check the perennial flooding in his kingdom.
According to the reports, the affected communities are Obiofu, Utu-Umuoriji, Ase-Azaga, Ogbeogene Utuechi and Agwe, among others.
All the communities are said to be within the Ndoni axis of the local government.
Though details of the incident are still sketchy as at press time, sources within the affected communities said that residents were having hard timessalvaging their properties and farm produce as the surging flood water is speedily overrunning most parts of the area.
However, in an interview, an Environmentalist, Ikechukwu Ojoba, said some other communities were also being threatened, and may be submerged soon.
He mentioned the communities being threatened toinclude: Kriegani, Aligwu, Idu-Obosiukwu, Idu-Osobile, Agbogwe, Usomini-Omoku, Obieti 1 and Ebeocha, respectively.
According to him, a fact-finding mission,which was carried out last Monday, revealed that farmlands and crops worth millions of Naira had been badly affected by the flood.
The affected residents were said to have been confused as a lot of them donot have any alternative place to relocate to.
Attempts to reach officials of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area were not successful as at press time, yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Eze Igbu Ubie of Ubie Kingdom of Ahoada West Local Government Area,Eze Okpokiri Augustine Maxwell, has blamed the Federal Government for failing to do the necessary things to check the perennial flooding in his kingdom.
Okpokiri, who said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, said his people were helpless in the face of the surging flood water.
He said, “The flooding issue is a very sympathetic situation as far as Ubie Kingdom is concerned
“They said we should move to higher grounds.How do we move?Who will help us? As far as I am concerned, our people are helpless”, he said.
The royal father regretted that Ubie Kingdom had not received any assistance from any quarters as far as flooding was concerned, adding that the kingdom had lost properties, including human lives to flooding.
“Ubie has lost buildings, farmlands, including lives in the last three years to flooding, and there is no assistance from anybody”, he said.
He said farmers in his kingdom were now in panic, adding that some of them have started harvesting crops to avoid being destroyed by the coming flood waters.
“Our farmers have started harvesting crops that have just been planted”.
He also said the last flooding rendered many of his people homeless, stressing that those affected were yet to recover.
Okpokiri faulted claims by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that relief materials were donated to victims in previous years, stressing that none of his people received relief materials from any Federal Government agency.
According to him, as the king of the Ubie Kingdom, his palace ought to be aware of any agency or company bringing relief materials to his people, alleging that the relief materials, if any,may not have been given to the right people.
The king blamed the Federal Government for not doing enough, stressing that proper attention were not being given to the issue in the Orashi region.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had recently directed communities in the Orashi part of the state to begin to move to higher grounds as the region may be affected by massive flooding this year.
Some residents of Ubie and Engenni kingdoms, who also spoke on the issue, said government did not help them during previous flood incidents.
They called on the government to dredge the Orashi River to facilitate the free flow of water into the Atlantic Ocean.

By: John Bibor & Oreoluwa Adigun