Hi guys, I hope our week is going smoothly. I will like to share my entry to this week's prompt, about the natural disaster, I Witnessed. To be candid, anyone that has ever witnessed any disaster wouldn't pray to see another one. Most times, many don't even know that disasters do happen, simply because they only read about it or see it in movies. I never witnessed one to until recently, and it was flooding.
It all started on an evening with a heavy downpour. People coming from different places had to hide somewhere, hoping that the rain would subside soon, so that they could go home. But all hope was dashed when the rain continued non stop. It was already night, and the most used bridge in our community was over-flooded. It was a popular bridge that was just constructed on the famous large river. The flooding was not expected because of the new bridge but it happened, and nobody could pass through, the whole community was in disarray. Parents jumped out in the rain to look for their children that had not come back from hawking. Some spouses started crying because there was a track record of people losing their lives in that particular spot every year.
At exactly 10pm, a bus driver summoned courage to pass through the flooded bridge. He opened his bus, and many people including me rushed in , just to pass over the bridge. It was a survival of the fittest. People hurting one another just to enter the bus, it wasn't for the weak at all. Immediately the bus move, people started screaming, I thought we wouldn't make it to the other side. When we got to the middle of the bridge, the bus couldn't move again. People started crying but the driver wouldn't give up until the bus moved again and we got to the other side. There was a large crowd of people looking for their family, and it was a shout of joy everywhere because we landed safely.
However, the joy was outlived not long after a bike man decided to also passed through. It was all well until he reached the middle of the bridge. The water took over, and he lost control. He fell into the water and he was swept into the river together with the bike. It was a terrible night. People were shouting and screaming, but helplessly watched the man swept away by the flood. Nobody dared passing again, people were on the road till the rain completely subsided and the water reduced. Some didn't get into their house till the following day. It was a terrible sight, that I pray I don't witness that again.
However, I couldn't stop thinking of what happened despite the construction of bridge.
Seriously, I realised government should do better than allocating and releasing funds for projects. Adequate supervision of projects is germane. Many contractors embezzle money and use less quality materials. Government should also be conscious of the project designs presented to them. With a river has a track record of disaster, flood-resistant materials should have been used. People should also pay attention to forecasts, even though it may not be 100 percent correct. Most importantly, people should not dare water or flood, it could be deadly.
Thanks for reading.
Picture generated from Meta AI