I never thought I’d witness something so terrifying, until the flood came. It wasn’t just rain. It was a rage of nature I never saw coming. One moment we were preparing for our usual market day, the next, we were running for our lives through water, through chaos, through screams.
It happened in late August last year. The rain had been falling for days, but we were used to it. “Na just normal rainy season,” everyone would say. But this one wasn’t normal. The ground had soaked up all it could. The river nearby, which usually gave us fresh fish and cool breeze, became a beast. It broke its banks in the middle of the night.
I remember waking up to the sound of my mother shouting, “Water don enter house! Wake up!” At first, I thought it was a bad dream. But when my feet touched the cold water on the floor, reality hit me hard. Within minutes, it had risen to our knees. Then our waists.
We grabbed what we could, important papers, my baby sister’s medications, our phones. Everything else was left behind. That moment taught me something about life: the things we often value can become useless in the face of survival.
Outside, the streets were like rivers. People were crying. Children were wailing. I saw a neighbor’s roof collapse as the flood washed away everything in their compound. I remember standing there, barefoot and soaked, wondering if this was how the world ends.
We spent three days at the town hall, which became a makeshift camp. No electricity. No clean water. Food was shared in small portions. Mosquitoes feasted on us every night. I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking of our house, the books I loved, the photo of my late father on the wall. Were they all gone?
The days after the flood were worse. Everything smelled. Streets were filled with mud and debris. Some people found dead animals and even bodies trapped under collapsed walls. That was the part that broke me. Nature is beautiful, yes, but when it gets angry, it doesn’t spare anyone.
Did I see it coming? Honestly, no. I didn’t take the warnings seriously. I wish I had. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that preparation is not panic it’s wisdom. Now, I always keep an emergency bag with documents, flashlights, bottled water, a power bank, and basic first aid. I also make sure to listen more carefully to weather reports, even if they sound unsure.
To anyone going through a flood right now: breathe. Don’t panic. If water is rising, move to higher ground immediately. Don’t try to save everything, focus on life first. And please, don’t walk through fast moving water; six inches is enough to knock you off your feet.
Above all, hold on to hope. Things may be destroyed, but life can rebuild. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. And now, I tell this story not just to remember, but to remind others when nature roars, don’t stand still. Prepare, protect, survive.
images are Ai generated