Rivers flooding: 'We dey use canoe take enta our house'

Pipo for Rumuokwurushi community for Rivers state Southern Nigeria say dem dey use canoe take enta dia house.

Dis na afta flood water pursue plenti pipo for di area comot from dia house.

Beatrice Offem wey dey live for Valley of Decision Estate along Igbo Etche road for Rumuokwurushi, tell BBC Pidgin say na since September na im dem no see road again as flood don cover every wia.

According to her, many pipo for di Estate don pack out but di ones wey remain dey pay N100 per drop for canoe to carry dem.

"We dey kill snakes and oda reptiles as di water don pursue all of dem out.

"For morning we go back di children carry dem out for canoe to go school. Di water dey reach pesin for chest tok less of di pikin dem. We want drainage here. No drainage for di area ." Madam Offem tok.

Favour Ikechukwu say some of dem dey use block raise dia bed sleep inside di water, even with di smell and dem dey get plenti infection.

She add say as di water don reach some pipo switch box, dem get to cut of electricity connection to di area so now dem no get light on top di flood den dey suffer.

Innocent Dominic add say na since 2016 dem begin suffer dis flood palava, though di local pipo bin say afta di 2012 flood, e go reach anoda seven years before dem see anoda flood.

'We harvest our farm wey never mature'

For Ahoada West and oda local goment areas along di Orashi river for Rivers State like Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni LGA, evri year since 2017 na so flood dey dey pursue pipo comot from dia community.

Joy Brown from Joinkrama three for Ahoada West say flood don cover all her five farms so she gatz harvest her cassava before dem mature so she no go loss evritin.

Baseme Akio from Ogovia say flood don cover all her six farms and as she no get canoe, she no get any way to go harvest di farm.

"Evri year we dey suffer di same tin. Even di flood of last year never finish for our body, dis one come. Pipo dey sick back pain, malaria. We just dey suffer. We never see any goment here."

Stella Lazarus from Akinima say if goment fit do embankment for di Orashi river and beta drainage for di town, e go help dem.

"Di flood go continue if goment Agencies no do dia work." - NEMA

Dis flood go continue if goment and oda agencies wey di mata concern no do dia work. Na so National Emergency Management Agency NEMA tok.

Di Zonal Cordinator for NEMA south-south Office, Ibarakumo Walson say dia own na to give relief materials and im don receive some relief materials dem for di state.

"We don identify overflow of river banks, poor drainage and flash floods as some of di cause of di flood but dis year, almost evri state for di kontri dey suffer di flood, so e no easy."

"We begin draw ear about di flood since April come begin warn local and state goment dem to begin prepare but most of dem no shake body till now wey di flood don come so we go only give relief materials to help di pipo till di flood go down."

Mr Walson say from dia research, na for goment to relocate many communities for Niger Delta to anoda area na im be di only solution because dem dey far-far below di sea level. So with climate change wey dey make sea level rise and increase di volume of rainfall, flood go dey cover most communities.

"In time to come, many communities go disappear as di water go take over. Already for most communities, di water don swallow much ground and evri year, dem dey lose land, so time go come wen di Community no go dey again. For dat kain place, Goment suppose to relocate di pipo go anoda place."

Im come advise say dredging and reclamation of rivers, building river embankments and proper drainage dey important if no flooding go be everi year cycle wey pipo go dey suffer, especially for Niger Delta region.