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The Director General of the Delta State Orientation Bureau, Eugene Azuka Uzum Esq, has reiterated the commitment of the State Government (DTSG) to mitigate the impact of flooding in the state.
Uzum said the state government had immediately swung into action, following the warning alert from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and other weather forcast agencies on the flood situation in the country.
Speaking as a guest at the Crown FM 94.7 in Asaba, the state capital, he stated that an all embracing committee, headed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, had been set up to manage the flood situation in the state, adding that the orientation bureau had also embarked on vigorous campaign tours to various flood prone communities in the state to sensitise residents and farmers on what to do immediately to forestall loss of lives and farm produce.
The orientation boss frowned at the attitude of some traditionalists who were unwilling to relocate from their flood prone locations for fear of losing such land, wondering how they could own the land, if eventually, they were vanquished by the flood.
He said adequate arrangements had been put on ground at the set up internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in the state to ensure the welfare of the displaced persons.
Uzum used the opportunity to appeal to Deltans and residents in the state to always de-silts drains for free flow of water when it rained, adding that it was unpardonable to erect any structure on natural waterways, thereby, causing blockade of flowing water and resulting in flooding.
He said that the devasting impact of the 2022 flooding had so far overshadowed that of the 2012 till date, adding that apart from the nightmare of the yearly opening of the Cameroon Dam, the two available dams, Kanji and Shiroro, in Nigeria had become clearly inadequate.
Uzum maintained that the state government placed high premium on the lives of the people in the state, saying that all hands should be on deck to forestall any death as a result of the flooding, just as he cleared the wrong belief that flooding of some areas was because of the failure of the people to appease the gods as he added that flooding is a natural phenomenon.