BY ANAYO OKOLI

UMUAHIA—DISASTER, penultimate Tuesday, struck Ntigha community in Isiala Ngwa North Council of Abia State, when a deadly rainstorm struck the sleepy community, destroying goods and properties valued at several millions of Naira.

An ancient market in the community, Orie Amakpu Ntigha, suffered colossal destruction; a church, St. Patrick Anglican Church was damaged by the rainstorm. Several other buildings, electric transformer and electric poles as well as economic trees were also damaged. Luckily, no life was lost.

Part of the ancient Orie Amakpu Ntigha destroyed by the storm.

However, traders in the damaged market put the cost of the destruction at over N150 million and appealed for assistance from the Government.

St. Patrick Anglican Church which also suffered huge damage has relocated to a temporary place for their church services and other church programmes pending when repairs are carried out in the damaged church structure.

Touched by the level of destruction inflicted on the community by the rainstorm, Senator Theodore Orji, representing Abia Central District at the National Assembly, visited the community which is under his constituency to assess firsthand the level of destruction wreaked by the storm.

Senator Orji was shocked at the level of destruction by the rainstorm and called on National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to wade in and assist the victims with necessary relief materials. The Senator however thanked God that no life was lost to the storm.

He made a personal donation of N1 million to the community to assist in rebuilding their destroyed market and promised to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the disaster for the necessary interventions.

“This is a big disaster; some people have been rendered homeless, electric poles and transformers destroyed, market destroyed; government has to intervene”, Senator Orji lamented.

Senator to the community, the traditional ruler, HRH Eze Benson Asonye, who described the disaster inflicted on the community as unprecedented, thanked Senator Orji for his concern and intervention, urging him to draw the urgent intervention of the Federal Government.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the traders association in the market, Chief Emmanuel Amalaha, who put the cost of devastation in the market at over N150 million, pleaded with government to urgently come to their help as many of them lost virtually all their means of livelihood.

According to him, although no human life was lost, the economic loss on both traders and the entire community was enormous.

The Minister in charge of the damaged St. Patrick Anglican Church, Rev. Uchenna Ivoko lamented that they no longer hold church service in the building following the devastation and appealed for government assistance to enable them rebuild the church.