WIND STORM DESTROYS OVER 100 HOUSES, RENDERS MANY HOMELESS IN UMULOKPA, ENUGU STATE

An early morning windstorm has destroyed property worth millions of naira in Akuiyi-Umulokpa in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The windstorm, which was accompanied by a rain fall, struck the community around 4am, Thursday, and wrecked havoc in four villages of Imama, Nkwele, Enugwu and Uwani as well as the Local Government Secretariat and INEC office.

The aftermath was grief and lamentation, the scene could be liken to that of a communal war, as the storm uprooted and leveled many economic trees, especially plantain, coconut and palm plantations, flung them on roof tops of many buildings.

The results were that some cases, parts of the roof and ceilings were badly damaged while in other cases, the entire roof was blown off.

One of the victims and widow, Mrs. Veronica Yabo, whose only child died some years ago, seemed utterly confused as she lamented that life had come to a halt, except government and public spirited individuals came to her aid.

“The wind blew off my roof and deposited it the other side; I and the child living with me escaped the wreckage by God’s grace, although a collapsed roof beam hit the child; all of us were drenched.

“I have no one to help me, except God but I am appealing to the government and people of good will to help me out; I will appreciate them if they help me,” she appealed.

The windstorm also destroyed perimeter fence and building walls, including that of the Holy Cross Parish, where the Reverend Father Steven Ugwu is the Parish Priest.

Fr. Ugwu said apart from the church fence, a part of the perimeter fence of the school owned by the church was pulled down by the windstorm.

“That day was Ascension Day, ordinarily it should be day of happiness but it turned out to be very sorrowful; in our school about five partitions of the fence were pulled down, that happened in the church equally; part of the church roof got removed; our plantain plantation was affected too.”

The worst hit were those whose homes were totally brought down by the storm, which also damaged electric poles and wires, leaving some parts of the community in darkness, while some had their processed food destroyed.

Mr. Ikechukwu Chukwugbata told Radio Nigeria that rice and basins of garri which were to be sold in the market were damaged, complaining that as farmers, they depended more on sale of their farm produce for survival.

According to Mr. Chukwugbata, the windstorm and the rain “spoilt many things our clothes and household materials; see our basins of garri, they have all gone bad and we have no other option to heap them in the bush because they are of no use again.

“We were lucky that no one died; I merely sustained a wound on my head where one of the falling roof rafters hit my head but my wife was not that lucky as the roofing sheet cut her leg and she had to go for injection.”

Mean while, a community leader, Mr. Emmanuel Okafor who observed that over 100 houses were affected, including two of his houses, appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to come to their aid, noting that they were still taking stock of the damage, days after the incident.

All the people affected by the storm and many sympathizers who spoke with Radio Nigeria appealed to the Enugu State Government and National Emergency Management Agency to come to their aid as the devastation had rendered many families homeless and was well beyond what they could shoulder.

CHUKWUBUIKE MADU