Life-threatening flooding swallows Calabar homes, residents bemoan fate

Residents of Peaceland community of Calabar, the capital of Cross River state, are bemoaning their fate as a large ravine continues to swallow homes thereby throwing the people into confusion.

Residents, who spoke to Blueprint in Calabar, said several houses had already been swallowed by the erosion water while others are abandoned as those who could relocate have done so.

Speaking, Mrs Ekanem Inyang, a widow and mother of three, whose house is now about five metres from the ravine, said the property was left for her family by her late husband, who died in 2018.

“When the rain falls, I will not be able to sleep. Please, the government should help me because I don’t have any hope. We don’t have anywhere to go,” she said.

A community leader, Johnson Eteng, in a chat, said residents had watched helplessly as the ravine consumed properties and forced some landlords and tenants to relocate.

Eteng said community members had made efforts to check the erosion by planting bamboo and using discarded trailer tyres to reinforce sections of the ravine, but the measures had failed to withstand the force of the water.

Another resident, Patrick Okon, described the ravine as “very active”, warning that more houses could be lost within weeks if the current rainfall continues.