FRSC Rivers Command with vehicles and the buildings submerged in river water

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, located at Port Harcourt/Aba Expressway in Diobu is  among public, private premises as well as churches submerged by flood as a result of over 24 hours heavy rain which destroyed also properties worth billions of naira in the capital city from Saturday till Sunday morning.

Areas terribly affected by the flood disaster are Diobu, Rumuokoro, Rumuola, Port Harcourt townships, Rukpokwu etc.

Some Churches had to make emergency arrangements for their parishioners to have spaces to worship.

The main evacuation point water which is the Intawogba Creek in Port Harcourt is said to have been overwhelmed  due to debris and lack maintenance.

Residents of the affected areas are fleeing from their flooded homes.

Martin Owhonda, one of victims lamented that that the state government did not make any contingency arrangement despite warnings and weather forecasts about flood prone states.

He called on Governor Nyesom Wike either declare the affected areas as “disaster prone areas” or state of emergency.

An Engineer in the state Ministry of Works who does not want his name mentioned blamed the flooding to “wrong designs of roads indiscriminate building of houses on natural waterways. It will take strong political will by government to start urban renewal by demolishing houses built on waterways.”

At the time of this report,  no government emergency agencies were in sight to assist victims.