Anambra State First Lady, Dr Nonye Soludo, has urged residents, particularly those in flood-prone communities, to relocate to safer areas and avoid flooded roads and waterways as torrential rainfall continues to trigger dangerous flooding across parts of the state.
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Her warning followed Tuesday’s severe flooding around the Nibo–Isiagu/Ring Road axis of Awka, where schoolchildren and adults were caught in rapidly rising floodwaters, prompting emergency rescue operations by the police, community members, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
Mrs Soludo, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed concern over the impact of the floods on families and warned that residents should not underestimate the danger posed by flooded roads, drainage channels, streams and other waterways.
She advised residents to remain vigilant, monitor weather and flood warnings and move to safer locations whenever their homes or immediate surroundings become unsafe.
The governor’s wife particularly warned parents and guardians against allowing children near floodwaters during heavy rainfall.
She also appealed to residents to stop dumping refuse in drainage channels, saying blocked waterways could worsen flooding and increase the danger to lives and property.
“Let us stop dumping refuse in drainage channels because blocked waterways can worsen flooding and pose serious risks to lives and property,” she said, while urging parents to keep children away from floodwaters, streams and other dangerous areas during periods of heavy rainfall.
Mrs Soludo stressed the need for greater community awareness and collective responsibility, maintaining that early action, preparedness and responsible environmental practices could reduce the risks associated with flooding.
She urged communities to look out for vulnerable residents and respond quickly when water levels begin to rise, while emergencies requiring urgent intervention should be reported immediately to the appropriate authorities.
The First Lady also commiserated with families and communities affected by the flooding and assured residents that the state government would continue to take measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the disaster.
Her intervention came after hours of heavy rainfall on Tuesday overwhelmed sections of Awka and left a school bus and other vehicles trapped in floodwaters around the Ring Road/Nibo–Isiagu axis.
Initial information from emergency officials at the scene said six children had been rescued and taken to the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, while one person remained missing. NEMA and SEMA coordinated the emergency response.
A later statement from the Anambra State Police Command gave a broader account of the rescue operation.
Police spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said Safe School Operatives, working with community members, rescued nine persons seven schoolchildren and two adults from the flooded Nibo–Isiagu Road, while one additional child remained unaccounted for at the time of the statement.
The differing early figures appear to reflect updates issued at different stages of the rescue operation.
Ikenga said the incident occurred in the early hours of September 22 when the schoolchildren and adults were travelling along the route and became trapped by the flood.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, directed that the search-and-rescue effort be sustained and expanded until the missing child was accounted for.
Police also appealed to residents and people operating around the affected area to provide information that could assist rescuers.
Parents, school authorities and motorists were warned to exercise extreme caution around flooded roads, bridges and waterways and not to attempt to drive or walk through routes where floodwaters had become dangerous.
A subsequent report on Wednesday said the body of a pupil identified as Success Ezenwafor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Primary School had been recovered, citing Awka South Local Government Chairman Chinedu Okafor. That report said the child was caught in the flood while travelling and that other children were rescued. At the time of writing, however, the police statement available from Tuesday still described one child as missing.
Videos circulating from Tuesday’s flooding showed the scale of the emergency, including a school bus surrounded by water, motorists stranded along affected roads and a woman reportedly clinging to a tree after being swept into a flooded area.
NEMA and SEMA officials said the immediate situation around Ring Road was brought under control, while further assessment was planned in other vulnerable areas, including Ogbaru.
The flooding has also renewed attention on warnings issued before Tuesday’s incident.
Anambra State Government formally issued a statewide flood alert on September 22 following a forecast that placed the state among areas likely to experience above-normal flooding because of its location within the Delta belt.
In a joint statement, Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, and Commissioner for Environment, Dr Clem Aguiyi, urged residents to remain vigilant throughout the rainy season, avoid unnecessary movement during heavy downpours and relocate from vulnerable locations where necessary.
“Government reiterates its commitment to safeguarding lives and property and solicits maximum cooperation from the public,” the commissioners said.
The latest events also followed earlier warnings over rising water levels and riverine flooding.
NEMA had urged residents of flood-prone and riverine communities to be prepared to move to higher ground, while a fresh high-flood-risk advisory covering September 19 to 25 identified Awka South, Awka North, Anambra East, Anambra West, Ogbaru, Aguata, Anaocha and Ayamelum among vulnerable local government areas in Anambra.
Beyond emergency response, the flooding has also drawn attention to the level of expenditure on erosion and flood-control measures in the state.
Anambra State’s official 2026 Second Quarter Budget Implementation Report, published by the state government on July 28, shows that ₦5.12 billion was appropriated under the economic classification “Erosion & Flood Control.”
By the end of June, cumulative expenditure under that heading stood at ₦135,705,369.97, representing 2.7 per cent of the annual provision. The report recorded a balance of ₦4,984,294,630.03.
This is slightly different from reports describing the allocation simply as ₦5 billion and the unspent balance as ₦4.865 billion. The state’s own Q2 implementation report gives the more precise figures of ₦5.12 billion budgeted, ₦135.71 million spent and ₦4.984 billion remaining as of June 30.
The ₦135.71 million expenditure represented an average of about ₦22.6 million monthly during the first six months, although budget implementation does not necessarily occur evenly throughout the year.
The broader Q2 report also shows that Anambra budgeted about ₦596.77 billion for capital expenditure in 2026, but had recorded about ₦102.76 billion in actual capital spending by the end of the first half, representing approximately 17 per cent of the full-year capital budget.
The state government said capital expenditure was below the 50 per cent pro-rata benchmark at midyear but expected implementation to accelerate during the third quarter as projects progressed.
The flood-control figures have assumed greater significance as heavy rains, drainage problems and rising river levels continue to expose communities to flash and riverine flooding.
The state government has, however, pointed to other erosion and environmental interventions beyond the single budget classification. In August, the State Executive Council announced additional erosion-control measures and enforcement initiatives, including mandatory catchment pits for buildings and community environmental teams, while saying contracts had been approved for interventions at several threatened locations.
Tuesday’s flooding nevertheless demonstrated the immediate risks facing residents when prolonged rainfall overwhelms roads and drainage channels.
Mrs Soludo consequently urged residents not to wait until conditions become critical before moving to safety.
She said preparedness, vigilance, clean surroundings and prompt compliance with emergency warnings remained essential to preventing avoidable deaths and reducing the damage caused by flooding.
The state government similarly said proactive measures were being taken but stressed that individual and community cooperation remained necessary as the rainy season continued.
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