Photo: 6-Hour Rainfall Destroys Over 350 Houses, Properties Worth millions

Over 350 houses have been destroyed and about 100 persons displaced after a 6-hour downpour yesterday morning in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State. Calabar flooding Properties worth several millions of naira were also lost to the unprecedented rainfall which adversely affected mobility in most parts of the city. Many of the residents including women and children were forced to spend the night in the open as they watched their property, including electrical appliances, mattresses, kitchen utensils, clothes and foodstuffs float away to large drainages. The flooding was reportedly caused by blocked drainages and the narrow nature of some channels which could not contain the high volume of water. Areas worst hit by the flood include Target-Goldie and Mayne Avenue, Marian road, Diamond Hill axis, Ete-Agbor street MCC, Wapi junction Marian and Ediba within Calabar South and Municipal council. Also affected were Yellow Duke, some departments in the University of Calabar and the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) staff quarters in Calabar South Local Government which were submerged. Some of the victims said that they were taken by surprise as it occurred in the early hours of the day when many of them  could not salvage their  properties. Speaking on the incident, the Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Vincent Aquah, who promised to liaise with relevant agencies to tackle the problem, said it was high time residents started taking some precautionary measures especially as we are about entering the rainy season.