* Buhari saddened by Bayelsa floods as Diri urges president to declare national emergency
* Floods sack Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital
*Evacuate persons living along water channels, areas obstructing water flow, minister tells governors
* IHRC: Emergency assistance, not politics needed to address natural disaster
Segun James in Lagos and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
As Nigerians affected by the massive flooding which has killed over 500 persons, submerged several houses and displaced thousands of persons across the country, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has revealed that about 2,504, 095 persons were affected by the worst natural disaster that ravaged the country in several years.
Also, President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness at the devastation caused by recent floods that ravaged Bayelsa State.
According to report by the Bayelsa state government, 700,000 persons have been displaced in about 300 communities and villages in five of the State’s eight local government areas that were submerged in water due to rains causing the floods.
The president in a statement yesterday by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, extended the nation’s condolences to the families of the victims and all those affected by this natural disaster.
While the authorities in the state are taking steps to help people hit by the floods, the president has directed that all federal agencies dealing with rescue and disaster management offer all needed assistance to Bayelsa.
Buhari blamed buildings on water channels, disregard for early warning by the NEMA and the changes to weather caused by climate change as chiefly to blame for the floods that have so far hit 33 of the nation’s 36 states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory which has not been spared either.
The president also directed all concerned to work for the restoration of normalcy throughout the affected parts of the federation.
This was just as Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri has urged the federal government to declare a national emergency as the teaching hospital of the Niger Delta University at Okolobiri has been shut down and most of the patients, except those whose conditions are critical, have been evacuated as flood has taken over the hospital.
The federal government recently confirmed that at least 500 persons had died in the last few weeks due to the devastating impact of the natural disaster. Aside the 500 persons that were said to have died then as a result of the national disaster, the federal government had also revealed that 45,249 houses have been totally destroyed while 70,566 hectares of farmlands have been damaged.
The latest data was contained in the updated 2022 Flood Data released yesterday by the agency, which also stated that about 1, 302, 589 persons had been rendered homeless as a result of the humanitarian crisis.
The figures also indicated a spike in the number of deaths from the figures that were announced last month by NEMA.
According to the emergency agency, about 603 persons were killed by the flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the last two months.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development had already likened the flooding in Nigeria this year to the last major flooding in 2012, which killed 363 people and displaced 600,000.
Most of this year’s victims were either submerged when their canoes capsized or were drowned by high waters which completely submerged their houses.
NEMA added that 2,407 persons also suffered varying degree of injuries arising from the humanitarian crisis.
It stated that 82,052 houses were partially damaged by floods while 121, 318 houses were destroyed beyond repairs.
The data also warned the public of impending food scarcity nationwide occasioned by the humanitarian fiasco which severely affected parts of Kogi State in the north-central zone and many downstream communities in Anambra State in the south- east.
It stated that about 332,327 hectres of farmlands were totally destroyed by flash flood which washed away many food crops nearing harvesting and large areas that produced aquatic foods.
In addition, the data put the size of farmlands partially damaged as a result at 108, 392 hectres of land.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Nasir Sani Gwarzo, would next month lead a government delegation to Cameroon to discuss the periodic opening of the Lagdo dam with the Cameroonian authorities.
The periodic opening of the dam sluices on River Benue is usually attributed for the flooding of many downstream communities in Nigeria.
This was also against the backdrop of the warning by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq to state governments, local government areas and community leaders especially in Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa states, of the impending floods in the coming weeks.
Speaking at a media briefing yesterday in Abuja, where she enunciated government’s efforts in mitigating the overwhelming disaster in the country, she called on state governments to begin evacuation of persons living along water channels and other areas obstructing the flow of water.
The minister noted that despite concerted efforts to avert the consequences of the 2022 flooding season as forecast by the Nigerian Metrological Agency, many state governments refused to prepare for the floods, saying such negligence was the cause of the astronomical rise in the toll of lost lives and damaged property.
“While we mourn the unfortunate boat mishap in Anambra State and other locations, please we must note that we are not completely out of the woods because the Metrological Agencies are warning that States like Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa are still at risk of experiencing floods up till the end of November.
“We are calling on the respective state governments, local government councils and communities to prepare for more flooding by evacuating people living on flood plains to high grounds, provide tents and relief materials, fresh water as well as medical supplies for possible outbreak of water borne diseases,” Farouq said.
Also, a high powered delegation set up by the ministry is to visit state governors to advocate more commitment to strengthening states’ response mechanisms as stipulated in the National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.
The stakeholders are expected to work within their respective mandates to prevent deaths due to flooding or other health related diseases that may arise.
Meanwhile, Diri has urged the federal government to declare a national emergency. Diri made the call at an emergency security council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.
He said the essence of the meeting was to brainstorm with heads of various security agencies to assess the situation and seek ways to mitigate the impact of the natural disaster.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah yesterday quoted the governor as lamenting the magnitude of this year’s flooding, which he noted had surpassed that of 2012.
According to Diri: “This year’s flooding has surpassed that of 2012, which is the highest we have witnessed so far. It has become a security emergency.
“Bayelsa is below sea level and when the flood comes, virtually everywhere is flooded. Even the Government House is being threatened.”
The state’s helmsman also noted that the flooding had severely impacted communities, homes and road infrastructure, which had resulted in the state being cut off from neighboring states of Rivers and Delta states.
“As we speak, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off its strike. But as universities are opening, our own state university cannot open because the only road linking the university has been broken into three parts.
“The only road that links Opokuma and Sabagreia in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area and the only one also connecting Sagbama to Ekeremor that is still under construction has been broken. There is hunger and palpable tension in the state,” he said.
Diri cautioned those peddling false information and protesting over a water channel project undertaken by the state government at the Okutukutu and Opolo axis of Yenagoa, the state capital, to desist from the act.
He explained that the project was undertaken to mitigate the plight of residents around that area who were being affected by flood annually and not to satisfy any other interest.
“Let me also use this opportunity to clear the air on the issue of the Okutukutu and Opolo water channel project that was done last year by the state government to check flooding in that area.
“There is some ignorant narrative out there that it was done to protect the property of some people. The state government did not take that action for any particular interest. This is not the time to settle political scores but a time to be our brother’s keeper. We must all join hands to tackle this problem.”
Speaking at the end of the security council meeting, the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Ben Okolo, said the council resolved that all security agencies be co-opted into the state flood committee to ensure that the relief materials get to the victims.
Okolo noted that security would be provided for displaced persons at their camps.
He also issued a travel advisory to travellers from Bayelsa to Rivers and Delta states to wait till the flood recedes as the road to both states had been cut off.
He said council advised petroleum marketers not to take undue advantage of the situation to make arbitrary increase in the price of their products just as he warned criminal elements not to cause more pain for people that are already displaced from their homes.
As a result of the massive flooding, the Niger Delta University at Okolobiri has been shut down.
The hospital has been forced to move temporarily to the Diete Koki Memorial Hospital in Yenagoa until the flood recedes.
Following the ravages of the flood, member of the House of Representatives representing the Ekeremor Federal Constituency, Dr. Fred Agbedi and a former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Bayelsa State and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for the 2023 House of Representatives election for Ogbia Federal Constituency, Daniel Iworiso-Markson have condoled with victims of the ravaging flood disaster in the state, describing it as the worst in recent times.
Agbedi whose constituency was particularly hit hard by the flood is ensuring the immediate evacuation of people in communities on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean which homes have been swept away by the raging waters. He is also providing shelters and relief materials for the effected people.
On his part, Iworiso-Markson in a statement said the reported loss of lives and displacement of people from their homes has caused untold pain to the affected families.
He said that he has reached out to some of the victims with relief materials to support them and urged well-meaning individuals and organizations to come to the aid of those affected.
He said: “My heart goes out to all those affected by the ravaging flood. My deepest sympathies and condolences to my beloved kinsmen in Ogbia Local Government Area who have suffered one form of loss or the other, particularly those from the Ayama axis.
“These are very trying times for all of us. I have been inundated with calls and text messages from many of our brothers and sisters who are displaced by the flood and it’s very unfortunate that I can only do very little to assist given the deluge or enormity of the requests seeking for help.”
Despite being a natural disaster, the candidate of the SDP for the House of Representatives election for Ogbia Federal Constituency, said so much could have been done to mitigate the effect.
“While the flood situation in Bayelsa is no doubt perennial, I strongly believe there is so much we can do to mitigate its devastating effect. The loss of lives, destruction of properties, farmlands and displacement of our citizens from their homes because of unmitigated perennial flood disaster is no longer acceptable.
“We must begin from now to plan for the next flood cycle in order to avoid a more catastrophic disaster in future occasioned by worsening climate change.
“No doubt climate change is causing heavier downpours but even more disturbing is the rapid growth of cities and towns which further exacerbates flooding by covering up surfaces that could otherwise absorb rain water. But government at all levels need to be proactive and more strategic in addressing the flood crisis.
“There is need to urgently begin to put in place flood control mechanisms and infrastructure, such as levees, dams, seawalls, and tide gates to serve as as physical barriers to prevent rising or running water from causing flooding.
“Other measures, such as pump stations and channels to help reduce flooding must be established”.
He further said, “The case of flooding in Bayelsa is even more compelling and requires urgent federal government intervention. But the state government must seize the initiative and rise to the occasion instead of waiting for the federal government especially where the lives of its citizens are involved.
“As a government, it’s important to begin to consider several ways to prevent flooding in the state as a means of mitigating the devastating effect on our citizens. One of which is to create a ‘sponge city’ like we have in China and Hong Kong. The state government can also create flood plains and overflow areas for rivers.
“Now is the time to start planning for the construction of embankments and flood walls across all the flood prone communities in the state to mitigate against the next flood cycle. Most of our riverine communities are in dire need of anti-erosion and protection works”.
Iworiso-Markson equally called on the state government to begin to contemplate the need to seek the help of experts to design a drainage system for Yenagoa, the capital city.
The design and layout of a proper drainage system could build a great foundation for preventing floods and cause less headache over time, he said.
