The Delta State Government has said that losses suffered due to devastation by this year’s flooding in the state was minimal because of the proactive steps taken by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration in tackling the natural disasters, involving over 35,000 displaced persons being catered for in more than ten camps.
Secretary to the State Government (SSG), who doubles as Chairman of the state Inter-ministerial Flood Management Committee, Chief Patrick Ukah, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Asaba on Friday.
While noting that the loss associated with the massive seasonal flooding was unquantifiable, he pointed out that the Delta State Government was yet to receive any money from the federal government aside from some relief items it got from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
However, Ukah said that in the light of the recent frightening flood projection for 2023 by NIMET, that it could be bigger than that of 2022, the federal government should consider dredging the rivers Niger and Benue as well as building necessary holding dams to cushion the effect of flooding in the country.
He revealed that 22 successful deliveries have been recorded in about a dozen camps for people displaced from their communities by the devastating flood.
The SSG said that the proactive steps of the Okowa administration obviously minimised the loss recorded by the state, commending the governor for the measures put in place to cushion the impact of the disaster on residents across the state.
Ukah said, “It is interesting to note that this year’s flood is far more than what we experienced in 2012 but we give God the glory that the proactiveness of the state government has really helped us in managing this year’s flood.
“We started our sensitisation very early and we had stakeholders engagement with traditional rulers, community leadership, school and everybody that we needed to meet.
“Many people responded by moving away from the low planes but as expected some people who hold some traditional beliefs held on to their ancestral homes.
“But through our proactiveness the Ministry of Environment was directed to open up the canals leading to the Niger River and DESOPADEC was also handy in this regard as they opened up canals around their own operational areas.
“We were able to set up four camps by DESOPADEC and eight camps by the state government and we had about 21,000 IDPS in those eight camps and over 17,000 in areas where DESOPADEC set up their own IDPs camps,” he said.
While commending the private sector response to the flood disaster, he said that the state government would soon publish the names of the private sector donors in a full page advertorial in the newspapers for the world to appreciate them.
“Now that the water has started receding and we have started planning their exit, by the grace of God, we will do whatever it takes to assist them to get back to normal life irrespective of whatever they must have lost to the flood.
“We thank God that we didn’t have so many deaths and we had a lot of deliveries – up to 22 babies in the different camps,” he said.
Omon-Julius Onabu
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