Residents of the Ogbeozoma community in Okapanam, a suburb of Asaba in Delta, have lamented the havoc wreaked by heavy rainfall on Sunday that left them stranded and trapped.

The major road that links the entire community of no fewer than 1,000 households occupied by civil servants, among others, has been taken over by gully erosion.

The residents were stranded and trapped, and vehicles had fallen into the gully, which had divided the major road, thereby making it impossible for free movement in the area.

Kingsley Ifechukwude, a resident, said the heavy rainfall on Sunday night made the road difficult for people to navigate.

“As you can see, my motor fell into the ditch while I was trying to negotiate my way out of the community in the evening hours when the rain was falling. Now that the situation is like this, the gully has taken over the centre of the road, and whenever any vehicle falls into the ditch, it becomes difficult for any other vehicle to pass through. This is what we suffer every year.

“We have tried as landlords to fix the road, but the current stage is beyond us. You have not even seen anything; if you have the courage to walk down the stretch of the road about three kilometres, you will marvel at the gully erosion that has equally threatened many buildings along that corridor.

“So, what we are experiencing now is life-threatening, and if the government does not intervene soon, many buildings will begin to collapse as their foundations have been eaten up by erosion,” he said.

Esther Okafor, who operates a petty trading store along the corridor, said each time it rains, floods coming from the hills are usually heavy and life-threatening.

She said, “The flood will come with force, and it will eat up the road and push the sand to block other passageways along the major road ‘Nwanikpa Road – old Okapanam – Issele-Azagba Road.’

“It used to be a commercial road where commuters passed through from Asaba through Okapanam-Issele-Azagba to Issele-Uku and to Benin. This road has been abandoned for years now.

“We heard that the state government has awarded the contract for the road, and if the government keeps to the promise and rehabilitates it, the residents will experience a new life, and commercial activities will be boosted in the community.”

The state government, in partnership with NEWMAP, a World Bank-assisted programme, concluded plans to address the gully erosion threat in the Vanguard-Ogbeozoma-Amachai area, cutting across Oshimili South and North local government areas of the state.

(NAN)