Ase Town: Crafting Alternatives And Adapting To Flooding By Frying Garri On The Tarred Road
The Oasis Reporters
October 17, 2022
By Greg Abolo
@gregabolo
@Theoasisreport1
The rare news coming out of Ase in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State and neighboring communities of Ibedeni, Asaba – Ase, and Ivrogbo of Isoko South Local Government Area inclusive of Ijaw areas as well as other Ndokwa East Communities is that for about two days now, the flood that has devastated Delta State as well as other states, seem to have been at a standstill.
That is the slim hope that people are holding on to that the raging flood may begin to recede in the next couple of days.
It’s a glimmer of hope, and people are holding onto it by faith.
But are people sticking it out in the floods ?
Yes.
Pin that on the resilience of the riverine people of the area.
Many are sticking it out there by sleeping in their canoes at night. Wooden canoes that are fastened to their flooded homes.
It’s a crisis situation but the people want to exist and thrive, despite the challenging circumstances.
“The flood waters rushed in with a fury. All our cassava farms are currently submerged in water and are rotting away”, according to Noah Nwaeze who climbed on a tree top to receive some network from a distant Community and call The Oasis Reporters on a faint line from Ase.
Araya town, just about five kilometers from Ase.
The Glo telecommunications mast has long since packed-up as there is no way of fuelling it’s generating set that is currently submerged in water.
Many resilient folks refused evacuation to upland communities of Warri, Ughelli, and Sapele because they want to try and reach their farms by boat so as to salvage some cassava and yam tubers to stave off hunger that they may face even after the flood recedes.
At present, Ase men and women can be found on only one dry patch along the tarred road to dry and fry cassava into Garri for their sustenance.
While many women cook with firewood on their boats, it has been reported that neighboring Edherie folks climb up a hill not under water to do their cooking. But they all sleep on their boats that have remained the sole means of transportation until the floods vanish by November.
