By Adedotun Aderoboye
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Victims of the weekend flooding in Ondo West Local Government area of Ondo state are counting their losses from the trauma caused by the massive flood which swept through many streets after a heavy downpour at the weekend
The flood destroyed properties at homes and business premises, pulled down fences, destroyed many farmlands and reportedly swept away a young boy who has not been found as at the time of filing this report.
Areas mostly affected included Ajegunle street, Ajiboro street, Gani Fawehinmi street, Lipakala junction, Mokola, New Town street, Odosida street, Temidayo street and Saint Andrews Grammar School area.
According to some victims who spoke with The Hope the rain which began at about five o’ clock in the evening on Friday dropped massive water and began to move into roads and people’s property thereby wrecking havocs.
The flood was caused by poor drainage system affected areas. Many of the gutters and bridges affected are either not deep and wide enough to allow free flow of water or blocked by debris. This forced the water to be on the streets and into people’s homes.
A resident of Temidayo Street who did not want his name disclosed said “Look at our fence there, it has been pulled down by the flood. Over there are our chairs, beds and clothes. Take a look inside the house and see the water still flowing about. Our drainage system here is very bad and the water from the main road diverted this area when it rains. We hope the government will come and rescue us from this ugly fate”.
According to the president, Ekimogun Youths Connect, Famakinwa Lucas Kakaki, the level of damage done by the flood was much. It has affected people’s livelihood, their houses and even swept away a young boy.
“I want to appeal to all our leaders in the House of Representatives and the State House of Assembly to the local government chairman and the state governor to come to our aid and take steps before water sweeps away everyone in Ondo”.
According to another affected resident, Mr. Michael Akinduro, the bridges in the affected areas are just too inadequate to prevent ugly events like this from happening. The bridges do not allow free flow of water and many people have become homeless as a result of the flood.
He called on relevant authorities to take necessary steps to stop more floods from sweeping through the community as we move into the month of June when heavy downpours are expected to take place.