8,000 Buildings Saved From Collapse In Onitsha

The pro-active measures taken by the Anambra State Gov­ernment following a warning by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have saved over 8,000 buildings from imminent collapse as the government following the dredging and distilling of the Sakamori drain and Nwangene River in Onitsha, Anambra commercial city.

The buildings that were lo­cated on the fringe of the water­ways and sewage canals were to be affected by the warnings of NEMA which warned that they were already submerged by sewage as the foundation has been threatened.

NEMA had earlier this year raised alarm about the impend­ing flood disaster by advising residents in the affected area to make sustained efforts by either relocating to safe areas or distilling and dreading the sewage canals.

Over 8,000 Areas Affected

According to Anambra State Deputy Governor Dr Onyeka­chukwu Ibezim, who is also the Chairman of the Anambra Flood Response Committee and the Flood Management Com­mittee, several buildings have been saved by these activities and the number could be over 8,000 including areas that have nucleated settlements.

“What we are doing now is to take proactive measures ahead of the Impending flood­ing according to the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA and today you can see a free flow of sewage and we have cleared moun­tains of refuse dumps that have been blocking the canals and drains.

“So far the areas include the Sakamori that is being dredged as well as the Federal Housing Estate and the Creek road, Ochanja linking Nwangene dis­charging into the River Niger.

“We have also done a similar thing at the Premier Brewery and the Port Harcourt road and the other side towards the church owned by one Odumeje, ” he said.

Ibezim however lamented that one of the causes of flood­ing in Onitsha and the River line communities is the human activities of the residents of the area.

“It is a fact that Anambra is always affected by the peren­nial flooding but if the canals and waterways are not blocked by 8refuse produced by the res­idents of the area the effects would be minimised drastical­ly.”