By; VITALIS UGOH, Calabar
Calabar, state capital of Cross River State recorded its first rain of the year with heavy wind storm which destroyed several economic trees valued at hundreds of Naira.
The rain which started at about 3.00 am on Friday morning lasted till about 6.45 am.
Some of the economic trees affected includes plantain, pawpaw, mangoes, orange amongst others.
Residents interviewed described the rain “as God’s intervention for mankind following the persistent heat all over for the past two months”.
“God is wonderful, they retorted. The heat is gone. We slept well in the early hours of this morning. There was no heat at all”.
According to them, “rain is better than heat especially when there is no electricity to on the fans or air-conditioners”
It would be recalled that power situation in Cross River State, especially in Calabar South for the past one year has been a tale story.
However, Senator Gershom Bassey representing Southern Senatorial district had intervened following the invitation of the management of PHEDC to the Senate Committee
As at the time of filing this report, there was no incidence of wind carrying roof of houses, but the rain continued at about 9.00 am till 12 noon.
As usual, all the major streets in Calabar were flooded as the drainage were blocked with all manners of refuse without getting them cleared by the authorities responsible.
Motorists and other road users were forced to park or look for shelter until the rain subsided.
With the first rain so heavy with wind storm, analyst say “this is any indication that we might expect worst situation when it is real rainy season. The climate change is here with us”.
