Flood Displaced Persons In Anambra Return Home As Water Level Recedes

Two months after they were displaced from their homes, some victims of flooding in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria have started going back to their homes, HumAngle can report.

HumAngle reported that about 34,000 persons were displaced from their homes across the four most affected local government areas in the state including Anambra East, Anambra West, Ogbaru and Anyamelum.

In October, close to 5,000 persons were forced to abandon their homes in Ogbaru Local Government when flood-ravaged houses, schools and worship centres.

About 9,000 displaced persons were taking shelter in about 15 camps set up in different parts of the state.

The Government of Anambra State said it was shutting down some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps created to shelter the flood victims as water levels were going down.

Chukwudi Onyejekwe, a director at the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said two camps in Anambra East, three in Ifite-Ogwari in Anyamelum and Ossamala in Ogbaru local government area had been closed down.

Onyejekwe said the water level in the communities had started receding, noting that the State Government was undergoing a systematic relocation of the people to their homes.

He said the State Government had delivered some food items to the displaced persons from the state intervention stock and part of the stored COVID-19 palliatives.

The director said Anambra was yet to receive any form of intervention from the Federal Government on the flooding disaster adding that SEMA had a list of all displaced persons with which the food and non-food items would be delivered to the victims when they were ready.

“We have closed six camps so far, the people are gradually returning to their homes because the water has really receded,” Onyejekwe said.

“We have delivered reliefs from the state intervention stock and we are still waiting for Federal Government intervention; all the victims are known to us, we have the list so when the materials come we will deliver to them.”

He also said the States Planning Board would go to the submerged areas to conduct integrity tests on the buildings to ascertain their safety levels for human habitation.

In October 2019, four communities in the state were flooded in Anambra East Local Government Area.

Enugu Otu, Eziagulu Otu, Mkpunando and Umundeze communities were submerged in the water after water level went up following torrential rainfall. Ogbaru was also flooded at the time.