After the heavy downpour on Monday, 9th August 2021 in Owerri, Imo state Nigeria, occupants of Synagogue lodge, Divine qualification lodge, Sun rise apartment were gripped with fear because of the heavy wave of erosion that raised down some buildings within the area.
The erosion came as a result of heavy flood that overfilled the road and the drainage under construction along Nekede/ Ihiagwa road.
Metronetworknews reports that the incident happened directly Opposite the popular Nekede secondary school.
However, the names of hostels mentioned above including a filling station named Gasgel Nig LTD are cited within the same area where this collapse took place as at the time of this report.
Meanwhile, the residents and affected occupants are jittered that more erosion could destroy all the buildings within that area.
They, however, appealed to the Imo State Ministry of Works, the member representing the people of Owerri West in the State House of Assembly and Imo State government to come to their rescue.
Furthermore, there is chaos within the area which is causing a lot of traffic delays along the Nekede Ihiagwa road.
The occupants are calling on the state Engineers and Contractors handling the said road to make an oversight, evaluation and supervision of the type of construction work that is going-on on the road.
According to them, “poor work on the road is the major cause of the erosion that led to the collapse of buildings in the area.
“Also continuous dredging of sand from the river within the community is a danger to the residents”
“We are calling of Governor Hope Uzodinma to help us since the Nekede/Ihiagwa road is taken so long to be completed as well as to assist the people whose properties were damaged as a result of the flood.On the other hand, With reasonable foresight, the destruction was avoidable. But we should not throw the baby away with the bathwater. The road construction is something everyone had longed and yearned for. People develop properties without creating gutters and culverts for water drainage.
The village chairmen should account for the use of Development levies and their inability to enforce building regulations, people build without setbacks to enable gutters to be construed”, says an expert.
This was indeed a terrible mishap that has left many people in confusion.
