Families and business owners are now counting their losses after torrential rainfall submerged major cities in Delta State following an 18-hour downpour between Sunday night and Monday.

Major commercial cities including Agbarho, Udu, Uvwie, Warri, Ughelli and parts of Okpe and Ughelli South local government councils fell to the downpour, which forced economic activities, including transportation, to a halt on Monday.

Our correspondents who monitored the situation in the affected areas report that residents were seen packing the remains of their belongings after their buildings were submerged by the heavy rain.

Udu, where most communities were badly hit, the popular Udu Express Junction from Ovwian to Otor-Udu community was completely taken over by flood, with schools, shops and other businesses remaining shut.

The stretch of Udu Bridge Road down to Udu Express Junction and Orhuwhorun Road were equally submerged.

Also, Udu communities such as Ekete Inland, Ekete Waterside, Okpaka, Opete, Ovwian, Orhuwhorun, Odjikpata, Emadadja, Ujevwu and other communities were affected by the flooding.

In Warri, residents were also forced out of their homes following the downpour in major areas like Ubeji, Okere, Abala Street near Third Marine Gate of Igbudu and Okumagba Avenue.

It was gathered that roads, business and residential areas were reportedly affected by the severe flooding in Warri axis.

A resident of Abala Street, Dede Victor, described the situation as an annual occurrence, noting that the situation was caused by the absence of drainage to channel the water to the Warri River.

According to him, “We experience this almost every rainy season. Once the rain continues for more than a day, the road becomes flooded because there is nowhere for the water to go.”

The popular Alero Primary School and Igbudu Primary School at Igbudu in Warri were also affected by the flooding, forcing many pupils and some teachers not to resume academic activities.

While in Uvwie, the commercial nerve centre of the state, several parts of the city were affected by the flooding, as residents were seen evacuating their properties and abandoning their homes with their families.

Mostly hit in Uvwie are Effurun, Refinery Road, Aka Avenue, Effurun GRA, Jakpa Road, Ebrumede, Ohore 1 & 2, Ugbomro, Alegbo, Alaka, Ugbolokposo, Effurun-Sapele Road, Shaguolo in Ekpan and Niger-Cat.

Houses, shops, schools, hotels and car lots were reportedly submerged or surrounded by floodwater, leaving residents stranded and counting their losses.

“The state government should help with this Refinery Road. You can see there is no road. All the business areas, including hotels, car lots and oil servicing companies, are flooded. This is the road that leads to the Warri Refinery and it’s an all-important road in Uvwie.

“You can see our hotel completely flooded. We pay millions as tax monthly and yearly to the government without benefit to our businesses.

“We have been cut off from business and customers due to the deplorable state of the road and flood”, a hotel manager along Refinery Road Effurun in Uvwie lamented.

The situation was no different in Agbarho, where the Effurun-Agbarho section of the busy Effurun-Ughelli-Port Harcourt East-West Road was almost completely taken over by floods despite its closeness to the popular Agbarho River.

The ravaging flood also affected several other communities in Agbarho, including Uvwiamuge, Orhokpokpo, Oguname, Ohrerhe, Uvwiama, Oghara, Oviri, Ehwerhe, Ughwughelli, Ophori and Ekrerhavwe.

The floodwater also overwhelmed streets and homes around Orido Junction, Esiso and Oviri Junctions, which are the major entry points into the town.

In Otokutu, Ughelli South LGA, popular areas such as Idjedo Road, Plantation City Axis, Otokutu-Egbo-Uhurie Road, River Road, Winners Chapel Road, and other major streets in the town were also badly affected by the flood.

Some sections of Otu-Jeremi town, headquarters of Ughelli South, Egbo-Uhurie, Iwhrekan, Edjephe, Ekakpramre and Okpare-Olomu also suffered a similar fate.

Similarly, several families, including the home of one of the editors of NIGER DELTA TODAY Online living at Okuokoko in Okpe Local Government Area were sacked from their homes by the devastating flood.

The editor and his family, who live around Princess Jokoh Close, off Freshville and Nehemiah Streets, close to the Osubi-Okuokoko boundary, had to vacate their apartment after the flood took over their homes to the knee level.

Our editor lamented, “The downpour has sacked me and other neighbours from our home at Princess Jokoh Close Off Freshville and Nehemiah Streets in Okuokoko, close to the boundary between Osubi and Okuokoko in Okpe, Delta State.

“All my properties have been destroyed. My entire apartment is currently submerged.

“There are no drains in Nehemiah and other adjoining streets, while the newly constructed Freshville Street connecting Osubi is not connected to anywhere. All the water emptied into our close and homes.”

The residents appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for urgent intervention since the Okuokoko is within the governor’s Osubi country-home in Okpe.

They blamed the recent flooding on the absence of functional drainage following the ongoing construction of the DSC/Ebrumede Roundabout in Uvwie.

Other affected residents similarly appealed to the government and relevant authorities to provide emergency assistance, evacuate trapped residents where necessary and address drainage challenges blamed for repeated flooding.