Umahi Offers To Pay Church Rent As Floods Wreak Another Havoc In Abakaliki 

Ebonyi State suffered another natural disaster between Saturday night and Sunday morning  as heavy down pour wreaked havoc on the  capital city of Abakaliki. Many residents, especially those living close to water channels  wereR sacked from their homes  following the rain which lasted close to  six hours. While some homes were heavily flooded, many had the roofs of their  abode blown off by breeze and storms that followed the rain. The most affected areas are Ogbaga Road, Iyiokwu Avenue, Onwe Road, Hilltop Avenue, Udensi Road,
Water Works Road, and Udemezue Street.

Service could not hold at the Christ Embassy 2 on Onwe Road as the premises were completely submerged. Many worshipers were seen milling around while others waded through the flood, salvaging already drenched church properties. The Iyi-Udele River that runs through the middle of the town was flooded and all the buildings, even 30 metres from the river bank, were flooded leading to  some walls and buildings almost  caving in to the tidal wave.

Some new generation churches located at the bank of the river close to Water Works Road, were  also affected.  Also, owners of  shops and residential houses at Ogboaga Road, Iyiokwu Avenue, Onwe Road and Hilltop Avenue lost  properties worth millions of naira to the flood.

Governor David Umahi, who visited some of the affected areas described the incident as horrendous and directed that all structures blocking water channels be pulled down and drains  properly cleared. The governor later directed the state Emergency Management Agency to compile the list of the victims and send same  to him before midnight.  He sympathised with the victims.

Inspecting the damage on Udensi Street, Governor Umahi advised the  management of  the Gospel Life Church  to relocate to another place, saying he would pay their rent for one year. One of the victims, John Uguru, said his family would have been wiped out by the flood  but for  intervention of his neighbours who woke them up.

He said: “We were in deep sleep when we were alerted about the flood. Before we could wake up, everywhere had been submerged in water.

“Infact, I had to smuggle my children out of our compound. We were lying on top of water and our sleeping mattresses were soaked with water.

“You can see that our livelihood have been destroyed by flood. We want government to assist us because the damage is enormous. The latest heavy downpour  is the second  in one month in the state. The first affected five villages in Ivo Local Government Area.