Massive flooding that swept away 12 communities in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State has rendered more than 1,000 people homeless and destroyed not less than 3,000 farmlands.
Some of the communities affected are Bago, Unu, Bagabo, Bakie, Bufua and Kakwe-Beebo while the flood also destroyed banana, cassava, plantain, yam and cocoa, among others.
The incident, which occurred between the late hours of September 18 and the early hours of September 19, rendered hundreds of residents homeless and destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
John Inaku, the Director-General, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said Sunday that the economic survival of residents of the submerged communities had been seriously affected.
Inaku, during an inspection of the affected areas, stated that more than 1,000 people have been displaced and are taking refuge in nearby communities, assuring that the state government would to address the plight of the people.
“The worst aspect of the flood is that it also destroyed streams which served as the only source of drinking water for the people, while the main access road was washed away as a result of landslide,’’ he said.
One of the victims, Mr Bette Obi, Chairman of Cross River Forestry Commission, said that the flood had wreaked serious havoc on residents of the area.
Obi, who said his cocoa and plantain farms were destroyed by the flood, appealed to the state and Federal Government to come to their aid.We urgently need government’s assistance in our communities to ameliorate our plights,’’ Obi said.
Another victim, Mr Gabriel Ofre, traditional ruler of Bago community, said that the flood had displaced his entire household, and destroyed his property and other vital materials.
Ofre appealed to SEMA and NEMA to come to their aid, saying that residents of the area were peasant farmers, who lived on the meagre earnings from their farm produce.
