Eket residents lament as flood sweeps houses

Residents of Eket town, about 16 kilometres from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital are counting their losses after flood waters caused by heavy downpour swept away houses and destroyed property worth millions of Naira.

The flood is believed to have been made worse by the impact of the con- struction of the Eket-Oron road which many residents said aggravated the disaster.

It was learnt that the building of houses on drainage also contributed to the flooding of the town.

According one of the victims, who have his name as Nkanta, the city has never witnessed such flooding in recent times adding that it would be difficult to quantify the property lost during the incident Speaking when he visited the area, Moses Ekpom, the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, expressed dismay over the “catastrophic nature of flood and its ef- fects in the area,” adding that stakeholders and residents needed to join hands with government to check the menace.

“The people should always seek advice and approval from town planners before setting up structures to avoid emergency like this,” he said.

He appealed to the construction company handling the Eket-Oron road, which some of the flood victims accused of being the cause of their predicament to remedy the situation and assist the people in whatever way it could.

The deputy governor directed the owner of one of the churches said to have been built without approved by the state government to relocate to ensure safety of lives of the members.

An official of the construction com- pany, Ghanem Gitto, promised to ensure that the situation was brought under control “though we never expected this volume of rainfall, we will do everything possible to help the people.”

Most parts of the state are prone to flooding due to many factors according to experts including lack of proper drainage system and the topography.

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo