Fear of imminent flood grips Bayelsa communities

Yenagoa — Fears that flood may again ravage the riverine communities in Bayelsa State have heightened as the rivers in the state have started rising.
The development is now causing anxiety among the locals in flood prone communities.
Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, had early in the year warned coastal states of the South-South to brace up for another devastating flood.
Though flood has been an annual occurrence in Bayelsa State, subjecting the people to extreme poverty and developmental challenges, it was never considered a problem until it devastated several communities across the country last year.
The anxiety of the people is understandable as the state is the receptacle of the country’s water flow and virtually every community in the state is located by rivers, creeks and canals, making them vulnerable to flooding and land- slide.
Our correspondent who went round the riverine communities in Sagbama, Kolokuma-Opokuma and Yenagoa Local Government Areas, noticed the rapid rise in the river level after the recent August break.
Most of the farmlands on the river banks had been taken over by water, forcing the rural folks to harvest their produce early.
Also, most residents have started erecting sand bags around their rivers to prevent the surging water from overflowing the banks and sacking their homes.
Some of the locals who spoke to Vanguard expressed concern over the rising water levels.
“The speed at which the water level is rising is causing us sleepless nights, given the devastating nature of last year’s flooding. Our prayer is that we do not have a repeat of that incident,” a concerned native of Sagbama town, who identified himself as Adowei, said.
But Chairman of Bayelsa State Post Flood Management Committee, Chief Francis Doukpola, has assured that the state government was working around the clock to prevent a repeat of last year’s flooding, which caught many napping.
He said: “The committee is paying attention to flood mitigation as we believe that preventing flooding of communities is far better than managing emergencies in submerged communities.”