A surge from the Atlantic Ocean has displaced over 2000 residents of Ayetoro, a coastal community in Ilaje local government area of Ondo state.
About 100 houses and properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed when the ocean eclipsed the community in the early hours of Saturday.
Reports had it that the ocean surge occurred at about 2:30 am, when residents of the community were still in deep sleep.
The Secretary of the Ayetoro Youths Congress, Mr. Emmanuel Aralu who spoke with journalists said that "no fewer than 100 houses were affected by the surge which had rendered the people of the community homeless.
" The surge was sudden and affected virtually every house in the community with water submerging most of the houses in the community.
" Besides the houses that were submerged, shops and commercial centre of the community were not spare by the water from the ocean.
"The surge occurred in the middle of the night when many people had retired to bed and before we make moves to start packing, most of the houses had been submerged, we had to evacuate the people from their houses.
"Properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed and washed away into the middle of the ocean. Houses were also washed away by the ocean which had almost claim the whole Ayetoro town.
Aralu, however, disclosed that no life was lost but property worth millions of Naira were destroyed, saying "the economy of our people can never be the same again"
According to him " the failure of the state government and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to complete the embankment project initiated in the area was the cause of the ocean surge
The youth leader called on the state government to come to the aid of the people of the town before the community is wiped out.
Aralu noted that the ocean surge has claimed more than half of the community already.
"We want to appeal to the state government and other relevant agency to immediately come to our aid and give necessary assistance before the surge sack the whole community" he said.
(Vanguard)
