For families living around Miracle Junction on Ifite Road in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Monday night's downpour will not be easily forgotten.
What began as heavy rain and thunderstorms quickly turned into a nightmare that claimed the life of a man simply trying to help a stranger.
An eyewitness, who gave his name only as Kelvin, described the terrifying scene that unfolded as the storm intensified.
"As the rain raged last night (Monday), accompanied by heavy thunderstorms, we came out to our balcony and saw that our fence had been pulled down onto an SUV parked inside the compound," he said.
From that same balcony, Kelvin and his neighbours watched two women walking along the road beside the rising floodwaters, unaware of the danger closing in on them.
"It was from the balcony that we saw two women walking along the road beside the gushing floodwaters. In the process, one of them missed her step and was trapped in the flood and began to be swept away," he recounted.
What followed was a desperate, ultimately tragic rescue attempt.
"The other woman tried to rescue her, but the woman she was helping was wailing helplessly under the rain. The commercial tricycle operator went down the road to rescue her, but when he got to where the woman was, the gushing floodwater swept both of them away," Kelvin said.
Believed to be in his 40s, the unidentified tricycle operator lost his life trying to save a woman he likely had never met before that night.
"It was devastating. Neighbours around kept hearing their cries for help before the voices suddenly stopped. It was this morning that residents recovered the lifeless body of the tricycle operator from the flood channel," Kelvin added.
His body was found on Tuesday morning in a flood channel near Book Foundation, close to Miracle Junction.
But the woman he died trying to rescue has still not been found.
"Although the body of the tricycle operator has been found, nobody could ascertain the whereabouts of the woman," Kelvin said.
When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Tuesday, security operatives had already arrived to evacuate the body, while government officials assessed the scene for further hazards.
Beyond the human tragedy, the storm left visible destruction across the neighbourhood.
A resident described the extent of the damage caused by the heavy rainfall.
"The heavy rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, also pulled down the rooftops of many buildings and fences in the area, among other damages," the resident said.
The same resident noted that officials had promised a full assessment of the situation.
"Some government officials visited the area this morning and said a thorough assessment would be conducted to ascertain the extent of the devastation and other damages, as well as ensure that nothing is posing any danger," the resident added.
A government official at the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity as she was not authorised to speak officially, confirmed that investigations had begun both to locate the missing woman and to determine whether blocked drainage channels had worsened the flooding.
She expressed regret over the incident and appealed to residents to take precautions during heavy rains, warning that poor drainage maintenance could put more lives at risk.
She urged residents to stop dumping refuse in drainage channels and waterways and to make it a habit to clear drains around their homes and business premises.
She further warned that careless waste disposal and similar practices could deepen the flooding problem and lead to more avoidable tragedies in future downpours.
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