BENIN CITY- Residents of Benin City yesterday woke up to the unwelcome sight of street flooding after an overnight rainfall which did not abate through the day.
At Upper Imadiyi, Mabel Erewa, Uwadiae and Enogie streets where flood water finds a channeled way through, residents were kept under forceful turbulent weather house arrest as flood waters took hold of streets and homes.
Hours after the downpour, residents could barely make it out of their homes while some houses on the water way had to kill the snake that made it into their compound due to the water invasion.
Residents whose houses were overtaken by the flood water could only troupe out in the evening, praying on governments intervention to right the situation.
Incidentally, even the partly reconstructed Imadiyi street road suffered its toll as the upper Imadiyi end of the road got washed off in the turbulent flood water, cutting the street into separate entities, thus making the road difficult to drive through.
A resident, Mrs. Onomuale Wallace lamented the influence of flood into her residence.
She observed that with partial completion of the Imadiyi road which the flood has partly washed off, life has become difficult as people get trapped in their residence due to heavy floods which can cause human casualties especially to school children if left unattended.
Very soon, the street might get depopulated she observed when people start packing out due to the threat and imminent damage from flooding.
She bemoaned the fact that the flood which flows from other surrounding streets right from Etete end of the road was now bringing in a new set of reptilian population to the area, leading to killing of red skinned and other types of snakes in the streets and surrounding compounds. Speaking wryly on this, she stated, “I wont be surprised if the flood also empties a crocodile on our doorsteps one of these days.”
