ONITSHA—CHAIRMAN of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state, Comrade Arinzechukwu Awogu yesterday made a passionate appeal to authorities of National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA to come to the rescue of the victims of the current flood disaster in the area.
Awogu who is also one of the displaced persons, made the appeal while distributing relief materials procured from the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA at the council secretariat, Atani.
He disclosed that more than three Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs camps otherwise known as holding camps had already been created for those displaced by the flood which has so far displaced over 500 families.
He lamented that the flood claimed lives, while farmlands, agricultural produce, household property, houses worth hundreds of thousands of Naira were destroyed. He added that the displaced families were taking refuge at the council secretariat, Atani; Primary School, Odekpe and St. James Anglican Church Iyiowa.
He identified some of the relief materials from SEMA as mattresses, mats, blankets, buckets, stressing that NEMA should as a matter of urgency, come to their aid as the number of the IDPs kept increasing on daily basis since the flood started.
Recalling that the level of River Niger had kept rising every day, he therefore called on the families living on the bank of the river to vacate and relocate to IDP camps closer to them to avoid loss of more lives.
He added that 13 out of 16 communities in the local government area were affected while the remaining three communities may be affected based on the way the water level kept rising. The traditional ruler of Atani, Igwe Ngoddy described the flood as another disaster like 2012, saying that some displaced families have been taking refuge in his home and called on the government to provide relief materials to the victims.
Some of the displaced persons including Mrs. Grace Ajie, Ebere Nwachukwu, Osita Obinyelibe, Charles Akubueze and Oprethe Oghale appealed to government agencies, good spirited individuals, corporate organizations to come to their aid and provide them with food and other household materials at the camps.