As 200 Families Submerged by Flood.
An outbreak of Cholera has hit the Umuzu community in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state.
So far thirteen children and two adults were confirmed to have contacted cholera in the area where the perennial flooding has submerged the community.
Similarly about two hundred families cannot be located and their whereabout cannot be ascertained as at the time of writing this report.
When contacted the Commissioner for Health Dr Afam Obidike could not speak on this development and even calls and text massage was sent to him but no reply.
But Obidike had earlier told reporters that the state government has a medical team that frequent all the communities affected by the flood adding that the health team has been working with the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA and the State Emergency Management Agency SEMA to provide medical services to the victims.
According to President Children Of Farmers Club a Non Governmental Organization NGO Prince Chris Okwuosa,there has not been any presence of the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA in the town adding that the few persons found to be taking refuge at a school hall depend on the flood water which they managed to boil for drinking.
“Umuzu is my community and what is happening here is that about two hundred families cannot be found and infact we will soon declare them missing in the flood .
“We have not seen any government presence since the flood came and the community health center here has no medical personnel or facilities before the flood came.
“We rely on one young man that runs a chemist shop here and his shop have been taken over by the flood.
“Umuzu is the last community to be submerged by the flood and after us we have Oseakwa community and down to Oguta in Imo state.
Continuing Okwuosa noted that “there is an outbreak of cholera in our community and about thirteen children have contacted it as well as two or three adults because we don’t have drinking water but all we do is to boil the flood water for drinking” he said.
President General of Umuzu community Mr Cyprian Ezekwesili told reporters that to go to Umuzu means coming through Okija community in Ihiala local government area through a canoe.
“How can you go there from Ogbaru local government area? You only need to go there through Okija town and that is Ihiala local government area.
“Then when you get there you will first start looking for your relatives because you don’t even know where they are staying and some of them their phones are off because there is no access to electricity.
Ezekwesili however noted that their kit and kin doing business outside Anambra state have been making free will donations for the purchase of relief materials and food items he added.
