C'River tackles flooding in Calabar, victims count losses

MORE drainage outlets are to be built by the Cross River State government to address the perennial flooding of Calabar, the state capital.The drainage will empty their content into an alternative channelisation scheme, which construction the state government has kicked off.The existing drainage systems in Calabar, which were constructed some years ago, were not designed to cater for flooding problems caused by climate change.Consequently, all the existing channels have been overwhelmed, thereby causing massive flooding and untold hardship on the people.This year alone, five major flooding cases have occurred in Calabar where property worth millions of naira were destroyed.Residents of the over 60 homes and perimeter fences, which were destroyed in the incidents, have described their losses in household property, vehicles, livestock and even human lives, as colossal.Governor Liyel Imoke, who visited the scenes of the flooding, said the construction of a standard drainage system in Calabar to complement the existing ones had started.The drainage will run westward of the Calabar metropolis and empty its content into the river by the UNICEM factory.Imoke, who inspected the facility, said it was one of the measures taken by his administration to tackle the flood menace in the city.He sympathised with the victims, who he assured that the government would not relent in improving drainage within the metropolis to forestall further damage to the environment and their property.The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Edward Ogon, expressed discomfort at the colossal damage to property and the socio-economic problems caused the victims. Areas visited by the governor included Big Qua and Palm Street by Atu Street.For now, Calabar has one major channel that runs from MCC in the municipality to the Cross River State University of Technology (CRUTECH) covering about 15 kilometres.
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