Erosion may submerge over 20 houses in Imo
Uhuala Obibi Ochasi community in Orlu Local Government Area Imo State is facing threat of extinction due to gully erosion. The erosion has submerged over 20 houses and is threatening
- Community raises the alarm
Uhuala Obibi Ochasi community in Orlu Local Government Area Imo State is facing threat of extinction due to gully erosion.
The erosion has submerged over 20 houses and is threatening to destroy more, including a popular market, Nkwo market.
The community is calling for government intervention to prevent further devastation.
Just a five-minute drive from Orlu town, Uhuala Obibi Ochasi community is now a shadow of its former self. Gully erosion, triggered by the overflow of Ezize River about 10 years ago, has devastated over two kilometres of this agrarian community, leaving destruction in its trail.
A visit to the community reveals that the environmental hazard has escalated into a gully erosion, currently measuring over 75 metres in depth, 100 metres in width and stretching over a two-kilometre radius of the densely populated community.
The erosion menace, despite persistent community and individual efforts, has rendered hundreds of people homeless over the past five years. Many ancestral compounds with paradisiacal, architecturally designed buildings and landscaped compounds have been taken over by the erosion’s unleashed mayhem.
The once-peaceful community is now like a ghost town, as many economic activities have grounded to a halt because many residents have relocated due to the gully erosion, which has become a daily concern.
Residents said they now live in fear, worried that the next rainy season can spell disaster if Imo State Government or Federal Government fails to intervene urgently.
“Without action, the community risks vanishing entirely,” a resident said.
Community leaders are also raising the alarm.
Speaking to The Nation, Chairman of Uhuala Obibi Ochasi, Chief Okechukwu Ogbuka, along with other leaders and diaspora indigenes like Mr. Magnus Udegbe, are pleading for urgent intervention from the government to save the community from devastation.
Udegbe said the community had repeatedly alerted the government about the erosion threat, but with no significant response.
“The community has tried to address the issue, but the gullies extend and devastation shows that individual or community efforts are no longer enough,” he said.
He stressed the need for collaborative action between federal and state agencies to address the menace.
With the gully widening and deepening rapidly, he warned that the community is on the verge of destruction.
Ogbuka described the environmental hazard as a serious concern requiring urgent action.
“The erosion has destroyed buildings and farms, and we fear it will get worse if nothing is done,” he said.
He appealed to the state and federal governments to prioritise addressing the gully erosion before it causes more damage.
Ogbuka lamented that residents had been unable to access their farms or neighbouring communities for over three years due to the gully erosion.
“We need help, and we need it now before it’s too late.” he said.
