Flood Has Displaced Me —Anambra Anglican Bishop Recounts Losses. (Photos)

By Izunna Okafor, Onitsha

The Anglican Bishop of Ogbaru Diocese, Rt. Rev. Prosper Amah has called for Federal and State Governments' intervention and assistance to ameliorate the ravaging effects of flood in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State and other parts of the State.

Bishop Amah made the call in an interview with this reporter over the recent escalation of the flood to many churches and offices of the diocese, including the Diocesan Secretariat, the Bishop's Court, the Diocese's King's Ambassadors Seminary School, Atani, and some other facilities in the Diocese.

According to him, most of the facilities of the Diocese were submerged on Tuesday, following the recent rise and aggravation of the flood, which, he said, led to the temporary suspension of activities in all the affected facilities of the Diocese, as most of the facilities can no longer be accessed.

“Most of our churches have been submerged. The Bishop's Court has been submerged. I'm already displaced now; I operate from outside,” the Bishop said.

Continuing, he said, “Works have been temporarily suspended at the Diocesan Secretariat, because we can no longer access the place. Then, our Seminary School, the King's Ambassadors Seminary School, Atani, is affected too; and our students have gone on an emergency temporary break. So, many of our facilities were affected and damaged by the flood.”

He further hinted that the farmlands of the Ogbaru agrarian communities and the premature crops therein have all been consummately submerged by the flood, which has also submerged many residential houses in the area.

The Anglican prelate, while acknowledging that this year's flood was more devastating than the 2012 flood, asked for speed boats and other kinds of assistance to enable the church access the hinterlands, and help those affected by the flood to cope with its devastating effects, as well as help them to rebuild and regain their loses after the flood.

He also called for permanent solutions to the flooding, which has been an annual disaster; even as he recommended dredging of the River Niger, well-calculated opening of dams, and building of stoppages to prevent the overflow of water from the dams, as some of the best strategies to permanently end the reoccurrence of flooding in the area.

On how the churches in the area would cope with the flood in tomorrow's Sunday service, Bishop Amah said, “My brother, there is nothing they can do, because the churches are over-flooded. The churches used to be the place of solace and camps for the flood victims in 2012 and other recent years, but they have now been submerged by water.”

“So, you can see that there won't be services tomorrow in those churches in the affected areas, most especially in the hinterlands, because the flood has damaged a lot; and those area are no more accessible. It is a very serious matter my brother,” he added.