Flood Blocks Nsukka Road

Saturday morning heavy downpour propelled flooding that blocked Enugu road at Nsukka in Enugu State.

The rain, which began around 8am, took a heavy toll on motorists plying the double-lane expressway of the university community. The rain caused the overflooding of the roads, spilling over to filling stations, shops and residential houses in the area.

“We have been crying for help since the beginning of this rainy season,” said a fuel attendant who refused to be named. “It is not happening for the first time. Any time it rains, flooding has always been the fate of this particular area of the road. Losses are counted all the time rain falls, including vehicles that get parked up,” she narrated.

A man whose car parked up in the middle of the flooded road said, “The depth of the flood is deep. I wanted to navigate, but the debris hidden affected the fan of my car. It is overheating.”

It is not clear if the state government has intervened, but it was gathered that efforts were ongoing to open up the blocked gutters of the road.

Kevin Odenigbo repairs tyres around the area. He said, “Men have been evacuating sand and logs that blocked the gutters. But the major problem is the underground one said to be blocked. And unless it is opened up, there is no solution to it. We are still hoping that the state government will intervene.”

A town planner, Simon Okeke, proffered his solutions. According to him, “We expect the new council chairman of Nsukka LGA to set up a task force on refuse disposal. Residents deposit refuse in gutters. One of the reasons is that there are not many designated dump sites along the road.

“Again, past administrations set task forces that were extorting people who wanted to drop their refuse along the road for evacuation. Because of the exploitation, people discharge their refuse in gutters at night. All these contribute to drainage blocking. We need a task force to monitor the gutters, and not those exploiting the system to earn illegal money.”

The road was dualised and modernised by the administration of former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.