More than 300 residents of Nkalunta Ibere village in Otu Uzo-Ibere, Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, have been displaced after the Akoo River overflowed its banks and flooded parts of the community.

The flooding followed a week of persistent heavy rainfall, which caused the river to rise beyond its normal level and spread into residential and agricultural areas.

Several houses and farms were affected, while livestock, poultry and churches were also reportedly destroyed by the flood.

Residents said the overflowing river also carried reptiles, fish and other aquatic animals onto surrounding areas.

The President-General of the Ibere Clan Development Union Federated, Maxwell Otuonye, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) House of Assembly candidate for Ikwuano Local Government Area, Kalu Chukwuemeka Israel, appealed to the Abia State Government and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for urgent assistance.

They said the destruction had left many residents facing hunger and exposed to possible disease outbreaks, with some displaced villagers reportedly spending nights in the open and in the cold after losing their homes.

The Chairman of Ikwuano Local Government Area, Anthony Nwaubani, also visited some of the affected homes and farms.

Nwaubani described the flooding in Nkalunta as a major disaster requiring immediate intervention from NEMA and other relevant government agencies.

He said the extent of the damage was beyond what the local government administration could handle on its own.

Meanwhile, former Minister of State for Science and Technology, Henry Ikoh, who hails from Ikwuano, appealed to both the Federal and Abia State governments to urgently assist the affected residents.

The flooding comes days after a similar incident was reported in Ugwueke community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, where a 37-year-old trader, identified as Mr Ejiuwa, reportedly drowned while returning from the market.