By Godwin Oghre

SAPELE (DELTA) – Over 200 houses were sacked and property worth over N500,000 destroyed, yesterday, in Sapele, Delta State by a heavy downpour which lasted over two hours, while several mud houses caved in.

Traffic was halted in major streets. Even commercial motor bikes, commonly called Okada, could not drive through the flood. A school boy was almost carried away by the flood along Yoruba Road.

Vanguard investigation revealed that Ugberikoko Road, Commercial Avenue, Reclamation Road, Adeola Road, Okpe Road, Ugbeyeyi, and Amukpe Area, were badly flooded.

The Head of Environment in Sapele Local Government Area could not be reached for comment as he was said to have travelled to Asaba on official duty. His deputy, Mr. Brasana Jackson, told Vanguard that the flood was occasioned by the blocked drainage system on the roads.

He added that even when the residents in the metropolis tried to open up their gutters, the council’s pay-loader to clear them away was dysfunctional.