Flood submerges houses, schools in Delta, disrupts learning

From Meluwa Kelvin, Asaba

Flood has submerged houses and schools in many communities across Delta State, displacing several residents and disrupting academic activities.

Primary, secondary and tertiary schools were affected by the flood.

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Some of the schools sacked by the flood include: Ovrode Primary School, Ofagbe Technical High School and Igbide Communities school in Isoko South Local Government Area.

The flood did not spare schools in communities under Patani and Bomadi. Houses were also submerged in Ndokwua East Local Government Council Area.

Daily Trust learnt that many of the flood victims had relocated to safe abodes.

The state government had established internally displaced persons’ camps across the state and provided relief materials for the flood victims.

The Council Chairman of Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Juan Governor, disclosed that a total of 10,611 households across impacted communities in the locality were displaced by the current ravaging flood.

The chairman, who disclosed this in his regular flood impact summary on Wednesday, said all the farmlands in the locality were devastated beyond remedy.

Roads and other critical infrastructural facilities, including the council secretariat in Aboh, were also submerged.

“While the water is receding, we encourage our people to plan the future steps to rehabilitation and restoration carefully. Each decision made today affects future decisions which will need to be made tomorrow,” he said.

The council boss further stated that with the flood, residents would face some new degree of challenges.

He called for quick fix of Ashaka-Kwale, Ashaka-Arhade, Ashaka-Aboh, Ase, Asaba Ase, Aboh-Akarai roads and the roads in the seven Ibrede Clans, Iselegu-Inyi/Onuabor road, Oko through the several Utchi clans down to Okpai roads, Obiikwele road, Igbuku-Ibrede road among others.

Meanwhile the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ehiedu Charles Aniagwu, said children were attending classes in IDP camps.

Aniagwu, who is also a spokesman for the Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organization, said the state government had established learning zones in IDP camps to avoid the “dislocation” of academic calendar.

He said, “We made sure that teachers goes to the camps to teach. In some other places, we did what we call the merger school system. Maybe, some persons were taken away. We also asked them to join some of their colleagues in other schools that were not impacted.”

Aniagwu also noted that the state government also put in place medical camps to cater for the health needs of the affected victims.