Bayelsa challenges stakeholders on 2013 flood

Governor Dickson who gave the charge while declaring open a one-day workshop organised by the state Post Flood Management Committee in conjunction with the Flood Research Group of the Federal University, Otuoke, noted that flood management in the state was a serious business since it is naturally surrounded by water.He said that the workshop with […]

Governor Dickson who gave the charge while declaring open a one-day workshop organised by the state Post Flood Management Committee in conjunction with the Flood Research Group of the Federal University, Otuoke, noted that flood management in the state was a serious business since it is naturally surrounded by water.
He said that the workshop with the theme, “Towards Effective Flood Management’’ was timely, adding that the flood disaster of last year took the state unawares, urging the flood committee to engage all relevant agencies and synergize with them to achieve best result for the people.
Represented by his deputy, the governor tasked the experts to bring their discussions down to earth and proffer practical solutions that would be implementable to solve the problem of flooding in the state.
He assured the readiness of the state government to implement the recommendations that may come out of the workshop, while pledging continued support to the flood management committee.
Earlier, the Chairman of the state Post Flood Management Committee, Chief Francis Doukpola, regretted that flooding which had become an annual occurrence in the state has subjected the people to extreme poverty and developmental challenges.
Doukpola said of all the states that were affected by last year’s flooding, Bayelsa was worst hit with over 80 percent of the state affected, and expressed the fear that the state may again be submerged this year with the rising water level.
He called on the Federal Government and its agencies to identify those communities with such perennial flood problem and give special attention to their plight annually.
As part of the work of the committee, he said since their inauguration, they have visited over 300 communities to get first hand information on the damage caused by the flood, and had distributed over 120,000 bags of cement, mattresses and other essentials to the flood affected communities to help them rebuild their houses and take care of themselves.
He disclosed that the governor had also released the sum of N500 million for the preparation of flood camp sites in identified high grounds in the communities, assuring that the state is preparing “rigorously’’ for the NIMET predicted 2013 flood.