Panic over Suspected Earth Tremor in Bayelsa, Rivers

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

A suspected earth tremor in parts of Bayelsa and Rivers States has caused palpable apprehension among residents of the affected communities in the two oil-rich states.

Residents of the areas noted that the tremor caused serious cracks on the walls of their buildings due to the incident, though no injury was reported.

It was learnt that in some of the impacted communities such as Igbogene and Akenfa in Bayelsa as well as Akinima, Akie-Oniso(Oruama), One Man Country and Mbiama – neighbouring communities in Rivers, many people who experienced it were yet to recover from the trauma.

There were heavy vibrations that lasted for some minutes during the incident which was said to have started about 12 midnight.

Nigeria reportedly experienced tremors in 1933, 1939, 1964, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2000 and 2009 in various parts of the country.

A retired Principal and landlord in Igbogene, Bayelsa state, Chief Etekpe Friday, described the experience as “frightening”.

“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,” the 60-year-old man stated.

Another resident, Victor Idieto, 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.

The story was the same at Akinima, headquarters of the LGA. A house wife, Animason Emeka-Mark, pointed out that 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 said.

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