June 24, (THEWILL) – Residents and traders in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, are counting their losses after a torrential downpour wreaked havoc across several parts of the metropolis on Monday morning.
The heavy rain, which began around 6 a.m. and lasted for about four hours, submerged homes and shops, leaving some communities completely cut off.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that the worst-hit areas include Achusa Media Village, Logo II, and Wadata Rice Mill, where several businesses, particularly rice dealers, suffered severe damage as milled rice and goods were soaked in floodwaters.
At Ishaya Bakut Street, which connects Vandeikya Street to David Mark Road in the High Level area, a resident identified as Aworo lamented the extent of the destruction caused by the flooding.
“My shop, which is stocked with baby wears, toiletries, shoes, and other valuables, was completely flooded. This is the third time in a row,” he said.
In Wurukum Market, a trader, Okechukwu Apam, commended Governor Hyacinth Alia for the recent expansion of the drainage system from Akpehe to Wurukum, which he said helped redirect floodwaters to the riverbank.
However, a food vendor in the Logo I area, who declined to be named in print, appealed to the governor to extend drainage construction to other parts of the city.
He disclosed that residents in the area had formed a task force to monitor and discourage the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into water channels.
A staff member of the Benue State Environmental Sanitation Agency (BENSSA), who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the flooding on the careless disposal of waste such as plastic bottles, food wrappers, and other non-biodegradable items into gutters and drainage systems.
He warned that the agency would soon begin arresting offenders and urged residents to make use of designated waste bins to facilitate timely evacuation and prevent future flooding as the rainy season intensifies.
Efforts to reach the Commissioner for Water Resources and Climate Change for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
