Delta Flood Disaster: 2 dead, 300,000 people homeless

Two persons have lost their lives, while no fewer than 100 communities submerged and 300,000 persons rendered homeless by flood in 10 local government areas of Delta State in the last few days.


The state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who confirmed that some of the victims climbed trees to escape the wrath of the flood, said, yesterday, that the magnitude of the flood was beyond what the state could handle.

The state Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, also lamented the devastating effect of the flood on riverine communities , saying that the government had set up a camp in Ashaka, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of the state, for residents of some communities, who were displaced by the recent flood that ravaged the communities.

Speaking when he led the State Special Emergency Committee on Flood Disaster Management to Tuomo, Kpakiama, Bomadi, Okwabge and Ohoro communities, Burutu, Bomadi, Ughelli South, and Ughelli North Local Government Areas respectively, Utuama, said the state government was committed to taking short, medium and long term measures aimed at addressing the problem of flooding in the state.

Governor Uduaghan, has, meantime, sent a Save Our Soul, SOS, to the Federal Government, the private sector, philanthropists and well- meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the state.
Reviewing the damage caused by the flood in Asaba, Uduaghan said the situation on ground was “grave and grim.”

He said: “Within a period of three days, the number of communities affected increased astronomically and for now, the affected communities are totally flooded.”
the situation as “devastating and a huge challenge,” he noted that most of the rehabilitation camps were already recording about 100,000 displaced persons, adding that mattresses, food items and medical facilities were being arranged for the victims in the interim.