Heavy Flooding in Ebonyi Claims Eight Lives, Destroys Farmlands and Homes

By Admin

At least eight people have lost their lives following a devastating flood on Monday in Kpoghirikpo, an ancient kingdom in Itim community, Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The flood, triggered by torrential rainfall, ravaged over 800 farmlands and several households, plunging the community into a humanitarian crisis.

According to residents, a local search and rescue team managed to save four children alive. The disaster struck at a time when many farmers were on their farmlands to harvest produce.

A community source, Okoye Lazarus, revealed that beyond the farmlands lost, about 3,000 households were left homeless. He appealed to both the federal and state governments to urgently provide relief materials and other forms of assistance to the displaced families.

In response, the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Human Capital Development, Ann Aligwe, confirmed that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) had deployed an emergency team to the area for rescue and immediate intervention. She added that relief materials had been arranged to ease the suffering of the victims.

Aligwe also urged residents in low-lying, flood-prone areas to relocate to safer locations provided by the state government as the rainy season persists.