Panic has enveloped over six neighbouring communities in Bayelsa and Rivers states following an earth tremor which occurred some days ago.
The impacted communities are Igbogene and Akenfa in Bayelsa as well as Akinima, Akie-Oniso (Oruama), One-Man Country and Mbiama in Rivers.
Although no life was lost in the tragedy, it was learnt that indigenes and residents in the communities observed deep cracks on the walls of several buildings and road paths even as many of them are still battling with the trauma caused by the fearful incident.
According to some of the people, heavy vibrations that lasted for some minutes rocked the communities during the incident which started at about 12 midnight last Sunday.
Chief Etekpe Friday, a 60-year-old retired principal and landlord in Igbogene, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, said that they were frightened by the earth tremor.
“We were about to go to bed when I heard a heavy vibration. I thought it was something else so I quickly went into prayers”, he narrated.
Mr. Victor Idieto, another resident, described the earth tremor as a kind of earthquake.
He said: “In fact, there was a kind of earthquake, very serious quake that lasted for some minutes.
“At first, I thought it was armed robbers that were removing my roof, so I started shouting, ‘armed robbers, armed robbers’, only to realize that others had similar experience.”
At Akie-Oniso (Oruama) in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, a resident, Paul Kio, said the tremor caused a serious crack in his building.
“This vibration was something unpredictable, look at the cracks on my wall,” Kio explained.
Also Paul Harrison, who hails from Delta State, but resides in the area, said it was the fourth time the incident had taken place, vowing to take his family away from the community if another occurs.
Similarly at Akinima, headquarters of Ahoada-West LGA, a house wife, Anumasom Emeka-Mark, said she had a traumatic feeling throughout the fateful night.
“Everywhere was shaking. It was something else. I thought the world had come to an end,” she stated”
Officials of the Environmental Rights Action and Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN, Bayelsa State office, who were also on an assessment tour of the affected areas, reported it was not the first vibration experienced.
Mr. Alagoa Morris, ERA/FoEN’s co-ordinator in Bayelsa, recalled that the last occurrence took place two years ago in neighbouring Freetown, Ikarama 1 & 2 communities in Okordia clan in Yenagoa LGA.
He said that what could have triggered the tremor had yet to be ascertained, some indigenes and environmentalists had linked it to intense seismic and oil exploration activities undertaken by multinational companies in the area over the years.
Morris therefore called on the government and relevant agencies to investigate the incident with a view to determining the real cause and prevent future occurrences to avert any disaster.
