Five people, including four children, have lost their lives after a landslide triggered by days of heavy rainfall struck Ikot Anwatim Community in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State.
The tragic incident, which occurred on Saturday, also left two others—an adult and a child—with varying degrees of injuries, while the number of residents affected is yet to be determined.
The disaster unfolded as floodwaters simultaneously submerged parts of Calabar South Local Government Area, prompting emergency agencies to intensify rescue and relief efforts.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) described the incident as one of the deadliest rain-related disasters recorded in Cross River during the current rainy season.
Officials of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (CR-SEMA), in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross Society, visited the affected community shortly after the incident to assess the extent of the damage and begin humanitarian interventions.
Leading the assessment team, CR-SEMA Director-General Efa Nyong assured grieving families that government assistance was being processed.
The agency expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy, urging residents to remain vigilant by reporting signs of erosion and avoiding areas vulnerable to landslides and flooding during the rainy season.
Emergency responders, including NEMA officials, carried out intensive search-and-rescue operations at the scene until Sunday evening to ensure no victims were trapped beneath the debris.
Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu also visited the affected communities alongside officials from CR-SEMA, NEMA, the Ministry of Works and the Nigerian Red Cross Society.
During the inspection, the governor toured several flood-ravaged areas, including Elijah Henshaw Street, Webber Street, Atu Street, Ibesikpo Street and Mayne Avenue.
He also paid a condolence visit to the family of a woman who lost her one-year-old child in the flooding.
Governor Otu assured victims that the state government had concluded arrangements to relocate those displaced by the landslide and flooding to temporary shelters, while commending emergency workers for their swift response.
The landslide came barely a day after NEMA and CR-SEMA completed a joint assessment of flood-hit communities across Calabar Municipality and Calabar South, where homes, businesses and roads were submerged by rising floodwaters.
Residents blamed the recurring flooding on inadequate drainage systems, blocked waterways caused by indiscriminate waste disposal and the intensity of the rainfall.
Beyond Cross River, NEMA is responding to similar weather-related disasters in several states.
In Yobe State, more than 15,000 people from 2,635 households were affected by rainstorms and windstorms across five local government areas, with dozens sustaining injuries.
The agency has also distributed relief materials to victims of windstorms in Taraba State, while similar assessments and humanitarian interventions have been carried out in Gombe and Rivers states following flooding and storm damage.
The growing number of weather-related disasters across the country has heightened concerns over the increasing impact of heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides and windstorms, placing greater pressure on emergency management agencies and affected communities.
