Following 16 hours of intense rain, a gully erosion that struck numerous towns in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State swallowed a two-story building and a four-bedroom home.
An indigenous person who resides in the state is the owner of the four-bedroom bungalow, while an indigenous person who travels outside of Nigeria is the owner of the other two-story structure.
Communities in Amaewu, Umueze, Amamba, and Uzuakoli are affected.
The erosion site had resisted frantic attempts to contain it, according to Hon.
Emmanuel Chinedu Ndubuisi, a member of the Abia State House of Assembly who represents Bende South district.
The legislator disclosed that despite repeated attempts, the community had been unable to alter the gully site, which also caused another four-bedroom bungalow to fall.
I called out to the NEWMAP, who came and provided their professional opinion, a step that has been taken, but the gully still exists, he claimed.
While pointing out that other structures in the neighborhood are in danger, Hon. Ndubuisi stated that the community has now started new palliative work as a result of suggestions from the NEWMAP team to lessen the impact of the flood.
According to NEWMAP, they should “do a drainage down to the river so that more structures will not be jeopardized,” but I’m not sure if the town has the funds to do that right now.
“What we need to do right now is utilize sandbags to slow down the flood’s speed, which the engineers have told us will lessen the destruction.”
He added that continued efforts are being made to enlist the assistance of other government authorities.
