Flood sinks Onitsha: Seven drown, goods destroyed by downpour

Residents of the commercial city of Onitsha especially traders at Electronics Market, Bridge head were thrown into mourning yesterday following a late evening downpour that killed seven persons and destroyed goods estimated at over N1.5 billion.
Daily Sun gathered that the downpour which started at about 7:00p.m on Sunday wreak havoc in various parts of the state, especially the Upper Iweka axis and Onitsha-Owerri Road, where over seven vehicles plunged into the gutters and its occupants were drowned.
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It was however gathered that the incident occurred when the Sakamori River, which was being dredged by the Benejaf construction company overflew its banks and emptied all the water into the streets and major roads in the commercial city, which covered the Onitsha-Asaba-Enugu Expressway.
At the Onitsha Bridgehead-Upper Iweka Road, a Toyota Camry car with three occupants was swept by the devastating flood into the big gutter at the Okpoko junction and the three occupants were drowned.
Also at the Ogboafere, near the Electronic Market, Onitsha along the Onitsha-Asaba Expressway, a lifeless body of a middle-aged man suspected to have been drowned in the water following the level of the downpour, was evacuated by the traders.
It was also gathered that a tricycle operator, popularly called Keke Napep and his two passengers were swept away to an unknown destination by the flood at Obodoukwu by Owerri Road also in Onitsha. While sympathizers trooped to evacuate the dead bodies of the victims at Okpoko junction covered by sand, the bodies of the Keke Napep and his passengers were yet to be found.
A search party was constituted to search for them at a canal along Onitsha Owerri Expressway as at the time of filling this report. Speaking to our reporter, the Public Relations Officer of the Onitsha Electronics Dealers Association, EDAO, Mr. Innocent Ezemenari lamented the level of destruction of lives and property by the early rain in April and attributed it to the blockage of Sakamori River. Mr. Ezemenari accused the contractors handling various construction works in the commercial city of not paying enough attention to the warnings that there could be serious heavy rainfall this year and open up various channels to let water out.
He said the cause of Sunday carnage was that the Sakamori River over-flew its banks and emptied the water on the Expressway from Head-bridge, which covered the road and sought for space and entered into the market.
He called on the federal and state governments to come to their aid by helping them open the water channels and persuade the contractors handling the Sakamori River to hasten up and dredge the river to be able to accommodate the water to help the traders.
Also speaking, another trader at the electronics market, Onitsha, Comrade Damian Ogudike expressed sadness at the level of destruction the traders woke and saw and called on the federal and state governments to help them especially young traders who lost everything to the flood.
He insisted that if Benejaf Construction Company had expedited action on the dredging of the Sakamori River, the loss recorded by the traders as well as the number of casualties would not have been.