Ondo community calls for help as residents battle flooding

Residents of Ondo town who were affected by the flood in the community on Sunday called on the state government and other interventionist agencies to assist them in cushioning the effects of the flood.

Property worth millions of naira were destroyed by the flood which hit some parts of the town on Friday. PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident occurred in the ancient city after a downpour that lasted for several hours on the fateful day.

Some of the areas affected include Itanla, Oka, Odo Ijomu, Bethlehem, Akure-Ondo Expressway, and Ife Road among others.

According to an eyewitness who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, many houses and vehicles in the affected streets were submerged by the flood sending many residents out of their houses. However, there was no loss of life in the incident.
One of the victims, who identified herself as Mrs. Ayodeji, said the flood hit her shop and damaged some of her wares, and appealed to the state government for assistance.

Ayodeji said, “I lost a lot of items in my shop. When the flood started in the evening yesterday, it hit my shop and forcefully opened the door. Many of my wares were washed away by the floor. I am appealing to the government to assist me in refilling my shop. This is the only business I have that I use to feed my family. I need assistance.”

Another resident, Tolu Akinola, said the water submerged their houses and destroyed many items, adding that all her academic documents had been swept away by the flood.
“When the rain started, we were all inside but suddenly we heard the noise from outside that the flood was entering into the houses. In the next few minutes, water started gushing into our house too. So, all of us quickly rushed out.
“The water submerged the house to the window level and destroyed a lot of things, including all my documents. Everything was swept away. I am appealing to the state government and the National Emergency Management Agency to assist us. The loss is too much for us to bear.”

In his reaction, the President of Ekimogun Youths Connect, Comrade Lucas Famakinwa, called on the state government to assist the victims and appealed to the residents of the community to shun the act of dumping waste along the waterways to avoid a recurrence.

Famakinwa stated, “We want to appeal to both federal and state governments to take steps in averting flood in the future. We also want to appeal to our people to stop dumping waste inside the gutter because we discovered that the drainage had been blocked.”

Meanwhile, the state government said it had ordered the evacuation of the affected areas and that rapid response had begun to halt further damage.

This was contained in a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Oyeniyi Oseni, on Saturday. The statement hinted that the government had put every necessary machinery in place to avert the flood in the future.

According to the statement, amphibious excavators had been deployed into critical erosion-prone areas in the state for dredging.
The commissioner said, “The cause of the flooding on Friday also could be attributed to the development on the waterways in an estate at Fagun and along the Ife Road area of the community.”

He further stated that his ministry was going to collaborate with the relevant sections of the government to address the unlawful development along the waterways.