Residents and business owners in Otovwodo community, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, are counting heavy losses following a devastating flood triggered by a prolonged downpour on Saturday.
The rainfall, which began at about 2:00 p.m. and lasted for nearly four hours, inundated roads and commercial areas, leaving shops submerged and goods worth millions of naira destroyed.
While the area is known to experience mild flooding during heavy rains that typically recede shortly after, residents said the situation was unusually severe this time, a development they attributed to ongoing construction work at the Otovwodo Junction Flyover by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
According to affected residents, existing drainage channels were dismantled as part of the construction process, with new drainage systems still at an early stage and lacking adequate water diversion measures. This, they said, left the area vulnerable to flooding.
When newsmen visited the scene at about 7:30 p.m., several shop owners were still struggling to evacuate water from their premises, with flood levels reaching knee height in some areas.
Most of the worst-hit victims were traders at the bustling Otovwodo Market, many of whom expressed frustration and despair over the destruction of their goods.
A trader who identified herself simply as Stella said she lost goods valued at over one million naira. Dealing in staple food items such as rice, beans, and milk, she described the incident as unprecedented.
“I’m not even in the mood to talk. Where do I start from? This is not ordinary. They removed where water used to pass without providing an alternative. Now see what it has caused. Who will pay for this? The government should come to our aid or ask the company to compensate us,” she lamented.
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Another affected trader, visibly distraught, expressed fears about the possibility of a recurrence.
“Bros, I can’t talk, I can’t even cry. What if it rains like this again? That means we may have to leave this market,” the trader said.
Residents have called on the Delta State Government to urgently intervene by providing relief materials to victims and ensuring that proper drainage systems are put in place to prevent future occurrences.
