Child missing, as rainstorm wreaks havoc in Calabar

30.05.2008

Rain has wreaked havoc in Calabar, Cross River State, with a child reportedly missing after a heavy downpour. The rain, which started before midnight on Wednesday, lasted for several hours, while property worth millions of naira were destroyed.

One of the victims of the flood, the Catholic Archbishop of Calabar, Archbishop Joseph Ukpo, said they were helpless as the rain started at night.

“This is the second time I am having this kind of experience. We woke up to discover that all the cars had been washed away or soaked,” he lamented. Ukpo explained that if adequate measures had been taken when the incident occurred last year, this year’s disaster could have been averted.

The cleric called on the state government to provide immediate and long term remedy to salvage the situation and avert future occurrences.

He expressed regret on the damage done to property of citizens, adding that government should find a way of containing natural disasters. “Psychologically, a lot has happened to me, we are naked. I am afraid of what would happen again if there is another down pour,” Ukpo said.

One of the residents of the area, a graduate in Mathematics, Mr. Okon Etim, said it was the second time he had lost his credentials to rainstorm.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that 28 households at the state housing estate and Edim Otop were affected by the flood.