RismadarVoice Reporters
September 29, 2026
Rising floodwaters have displaced residents, damaged property and disrupted daily activities in several communities across Rivers State, with affected residents calling for urgent intervention and improved drainage infrastructure.
In Rumuekini, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, residents said they had spent nights pumping and scooping water from their homes as flood levels continued to rise.
Some attributed the situation to poor urban planning, deteriorating internal roads and inadequate drainage systems.
RismadarVoice gathered that flooding has also affected the Rumuekini School Road axis, where landlord Tubosoye George said water had entered his building and disrupted activities in the area.
Georgewill said some residents had become trapped in their homes as water levels increased.
In Nkpolu-Rumuigbo, a resident who said he had lived in the community for more than 13 years described the flooding as the worst he had experienced, while others said some households had been forced to abandon their homes.
Residents of Rumunduru Community also raised concerns about roads and drainage channels.
The community’s Youth President, Chizy Worlu, said properly constructed and maintained roads and drainage systems would help channel water away from residential areas.
Worlu said several residents had already left their homes because of the flooding.
Similar concerns were raised along the Rukpokwu-Eneka axis, particularly Chiomana Street, off Ogbodo-Apu Road, where landlords and tenants said flooding had displaced some residents and caused significant hardship.
Some residents alleged that construction activities by government agencies, combined with inadequate drainage infrastructure, had contributed to the flooding.
The claims linking specific construction projects to the flooding have not been independently established.
Residents of Progress Estate, along the Ohia-Agbada-Rumuapu/Rumukpoku-Eneka Road towards Bolingo Link Road, are also battling rising water levels.
One resident, who shared footage showing himself standing in waist-deep water, alleged that ongoing construction around the Rumukpoku section of the Port Harcourt Ring Road had worsened the situation.
He said he had lived in the area for more than eight years without experiencing flooding of the current magnitude and called for urgent intervention.
The Rivers State Government has identified blocked drainage channels, indiscriminate refuse disposal and structures obstructing waterways among factors contributing to flooding and says flood-management interventions are being implemented in affected areas.
DISPUTE OVER RELIEF MATERIALS IN OYIGBO
Meanwhile, controversy has emerged over the distribution of relief materials delivered to Oyigbo Local Government Area for flood victims.
Some affected residents said that nearly two weeks after the materials arrived at the council secretariat, they had yet to receive assistance.
They said their names were recorded when the Rivers State Flood Prevention and Management Committee delivered the items, ms but distribution had not followed.
Some residents said they preferred permanent measures to address flooding, arguing that food and other relief items provided only temporary assistance.
Oyigbo Local Government Chairman, Okechukwu Akara, however, said relief materials supplied by the state government remained with the council.
He explained that materials supplied directly by the National Emergency Management Agency had been distributed to affected residents in Graceland Community.
NEMA State Coordinator, Dr Chidi Ogunde, also said some materials were distributed directly in Graceland, while the remaining items were handed over to the council.
According to him, the council had yet to notify the agency of when the remaining materials would be distributed.
Chairman of the Oyigbo Flood Committee, Temple Nwankwo, said distribution was temporarily delayed to allow the committee to gather additional materials so that more affected residents could benefit.
He said distribution was expected to begin on Wednesday.
However, another stakeholder, who requested anonymity, alleged that some food items had already been distributed at ward level to political loyalists.
The allegation could not be independently verified.
The Rivers State Flood Prevention and Management Committee, chaired by Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu, delivered relief materials to Oyigbo on September 15 as part of the state’s response to flooding.
The items included rice, garri, beans, noodles, mattresses, toiletries and other supplies intended for affected residents.
