Flood in Bayelsa submerges homes and farmlands

Bayelsa’s State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA has disclosed that farmlands and residential buildings have been submerged in parts of the state.

Mr Torukuru Adakien, SEMA’s Head of Administration, told newsmen in Yenagoa yesterday, that the most affected communities were Agbura and Amarata all in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.

Adakien, who said the agency was preparing to visit the affected communities to ascertain the extent of the damage, said: “We have not known the extent of the damage, but as we speak, some households and farmlands have been submerged in these communities.

“Bayelsa as one of the coastal states is highly prone to flooding, this kind of disaster happens here at any given time; the flooding itself is almost affecting every nooks and crannies in the state, but the most affected areas now are Agbura and Amarata communities.

“We are calling on federal and state government as well as private sectors for help on how to cushion the effect of the flooding caused by rain water. We have been advising the people on measures to checkmate such disaster, the state government is trying on their part; they had embarked on opening of drainages and work is still on-going.

“We need support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to facilitate our efforts to mitigate the effect; relief items should be readily available for us for easy distributions. There is need for continue sensitisation on flooding, especially for the coastal people across the country, but we are incompetent due to lack of fund, we need fund to function effectively.”