One dies as flood hits Port Harcourt

A downpour which lasted for two days has destroyed property worth millions of naira in some parts of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, forcing residents to flee with their families.

Also, a 25-year-old trader at the Mile One Market was electrocuted on Saturday night immediately he entered his apartment at Oloibiri Street in D-Line Port Harcourt unknowing to him that an electricity powered appliances had been touched by water.

A resident of the area said that it was a neighbour who noticed his body, and raised the alarm which attracted other residents.

The rain, which started on Saturday morning, fell all through the day in some parts of the city, and continued on Sunday morning till afternoon, forcing drainages to overflow into some streets, including Uyo, Oloibiri, located near the end of D-Line in Port Harcourt Local Government Area.

Some residents of D-Line were busy moving their property to safer locations on Sunday morning, with some safer streets filled with property of the victims of the flood.

Also affected are some areas on Aba Road where the state headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) was submerged, making it difficult for its personnel to have access to the building on Sunday.

A resident of D-Line, whose one bedroom apartment was affected by the flood, said he managed to move his family to his elder sister’s house at Woji, appealing to the government to pay more attention to the drainage.

He added: “I am grateful to God that the matter can still be controlled, because it could have been worse. This is a warning sign that should be taken seriously. But I am not the government.” 

The rain submerged cars parked inside the compound, mostly cars impounded from traffic offenders by the commission.

The Fugerole axis in Oyigbo Local Government Area, also on Aba Road was also not spared by the flood, despite the fact that the road was recently rehabilitated by government following complaints from motorists, especially tanker drivers over its poor state.

As motorists struggled to navigate through the only lane after the water had taken over the other lane, there was confusion as motorists in the rush to pass through the flood caused gridlock.

In Rumuolumeni, which was also affected, some churches could not hold worship because the place was flooded and could not be accessed on foot.