Anambra Flood Victims Cry for Help
In Anambra, flooding has become an annual crisis. This year was not an exception, and the victims, who have also had their fair share of suffering, are calling for help from revelevant authorities. David-Chyddy Eleke who visited the areas reports
It is November already, so the harmattan season is supposed to have commenced. If it had, that would have signaled the end of the rainy season for the year, and water level in flood ravaged areas in Anambra State would have gone down, and flood victims who are currently holed up in various Internally Displaced Person’s (IDPs) camps would have been preparing to return to their homes to salvage what is left of their properties.
This is however not so as instead, the water level in at least three local government areas in Anambra State, namely; Ogbaru, Anambra East and Anambra West council areas have continued to rise. The implication is that, instead of the IDPs preparing to go back home, more people who live in seemingly upland areas of the local government areas are being hit by the flood, forcing them to abandon their homes for the holding centres.
Most worrisome is the plight of the people in the camps, as the surge in the number of displaced people has caused a shortage of virtually everything that is needed to make life a little worth living in the camp. There is shortage of space, sleeping materials, water, bathing buckets, and many more, not to talk of food, which children in the camp now steadily cry for.
As this reporter approached Atani in Ogbaru Council Area, which serves as one of the camps for displaced persons, the hunger and lack in the camp were evident as women mostly sat despondently in various corners, wearing long faces, while others were seen either washing or trying to give their children attention, all scantily clad and looking malnourished.
In Ogbaru, it is not the first time of most of the IDPs to be in the camp as previous years have also seen them staying months in the camp for water to recede before they can go home. But from interactions with them, one thing has become constant every year too; "We must experience hunger in the camp every year”, one of the women who identified herself as Dora said.
She added, "our condition every year has become a kind of blessing to some people. Even though we always hear that the state government has prepared ahead of time for people who will be displaced by flood, when we reluctantly move into the centres, feeding becomes a problem. If you look around, you will not see our men, most of them have gone out to work or to access the extent of damage in our homes, and before they come back, they bring food for their wives and children. Woe betide you if you do not have a husband and you are staying here. When other families will go to one corner to eat, your children will just be looking at them and waiting for camp food which comes once a day sometimes and is never sufficient."
Government Embarks on Assessment Recently,, the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) embarked on an assessment tour of various communities effected by flood disasters in order to ascertain water levels.
The assessment, which was carried out at Ogbaru, Anambra East and Anambra West Local Government Areas, which are the three council areas affected by flood, was to help SEMA to present situation reports to the state government.
SEMA, Executive Director, Mr Cyprain Agupugo who was represented by Executive Assistant to the governor on SEMA (Media), Mr Emeka Obinwa said that with rising level of water, more victims have been moved into holding centres.
He said, "The situation of things has driven many victims into the holding centres. This is what we saw at Atani and some of the victims go about their daily activities and retire to the centres. The rising level of water witnessed in recent times, has orchestrated a surge in the number of victims.”
Agupugo noted that the victims were pleading for assistance, especially food items as they had exhausted those distributed to them about weeks ago. According to him, most of the areas visited have been completely submerged as houses, farmlands, churches and schools are already underwater.
Attendant Effect on Academics When THISDAY enquired from some of the women how their children attend schools since after they were displaced by the flood and learnt that the education of their children has also received a big blow as a result of the flood.
Most of the victims who were displaced in far away Akiri Ozizor village, and other riverine communities in the local government had only one option, which was to join other pupils in Atani primary school. Over five schools in the area have their pupils merged into one to
be taught in Atani primary school.
Displaced people who spoke with reporters including Mrs Ebele Nwachukwu pleaded with government for more aids in food items to save them and their children from starvation. She said, "The condition here is so bad that our children no longer go to school because a child here, in the holding centre was almost carried away by floodwaters on his way from school.’’
Agupugo corroborated the above, saying, "It is a sad story, the situation is really treacherous and devastating because most of this people now do their daily activities on water. School children have been displaced and in some upland areas, you will find out that children from different schools are merged and taught together in the same school, because those living in flood ravaged area can not go to their schools."
He assured victims of government’s readiness to work with relevant authorities to bring about the desired assistance to them.
Appeal for Food
Chairman, 2019 Flood Relief Committee,
Ogbaru LGA, Mr Nnamdi Esimai while speaking thanked the state government for making available relief materials that were distributed to victims through SEMA three weeks ago. He however lamented that more victims were increasing in the holding centres on daily basis due to the rising water level.
He said, "To my surprise, rather than the water to recede, it is increasing. So, with the number of victims, they have increased to more than the original number in the camps. We plead with the state government to provide more relief materials, especially food items, as the people have been worried and hungry."
Another displaced person, Mr Sunday Ogulo, said that this year’s flooding had become more unbearable because unlike other years, the floodwaters would have started receding by this time of the year.
While pleading with government to come to their aid, he however thanked Governor Willie Obiano and Ogbaru LGA Chairman for their efforts at ensuring that affected victims were well accommodated, although he lamented that they lack in the area of feeding.