Flood Leaves Thousands Homeless in Akwa Ibom, Exposes Growing Urban Drainage Crisis

Thousands of residents of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, have been displaced after devastating floods triggered by several hours of heavy rainfall swept through homes, churches, and business premises yesterday, exposing what residents describe as the city’s worsening drainage and flood management challenges.

The flooding submerged entire neighbourhoods, forcing families to flee their homes as rising waters engulfed buildings in some of the city’s most populated residential areas, including Abak Road, Nkemba Street, Uwah Street, Port Harcourt Street, and Aka Itiam Street.

Videos circulating on social media showed houses almost completely submerged, with desperate residents struggling to rescue household belongings while others were forced to seek shelter in safer locations after their homes became uninhabitable.

Some residents, in a video shared online, appealed for urgent government intervention, expressing fears that some occupants of flooded buildings could still be trapped.

“I am calling on the state government to come to our aid. I am not sure of the safety of other occupants of the houses. Our residence has been completely overrun by the flood,” a resident cried.

The disaster disrupted businesses and left many victims counting losses as commercial activities ground to a halt across affected communities.

Residents blamed the scale of the flooding on inadequate drainage and alleged poor execution of ongoing road projects, while environmental experts have continued to warn that climate change is contributing to more frequent and intense rainfall across Nigeria.

As of press time, the Akwa Ibom State Government had yet to issue an official statement or announce emergency relief measures for affected residents.

Ironically, barely 24 hours before the disaster, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Mrs. Emem Ibanga, had, during a meeting with ActionAid in Uyo, called for stronger collaboration to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and improve support for vulnerable communities.

The latest flooding has renewed calls for comprehensive urban drainage reforms and climate adaptation measures as residents fear that similar disasters could recur with the peak of the rainy season still ahead.