Floods: Community Count Losses, Record Deaths

…Calls On Govt Attention As IDPs Increases In Imiringi Community

Imiringi community, a suburb of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, and a community in the Ogbia council area of the state have begun counting their losses to the ravaging floods.

Speaking with Journalist during an assessment tour of the impact of the floods in the community, the Chairman, Community development committee(CDC), Mr Dawari Okpu noted that aside the outright cutting-off of the flooded Imiringi-Otuasega-Yenagoa road, the community have also recorded a number of deaths to the killer floods.

He revealed that while families in the community have already been overwhelmed by the floods, the number of internally displaced persons in the community too in the past weeks have increased significantly.

Okpu called on the Bayelsa state government and other well-meaning individuals to come to the aid of the community, saying they were in dire need of assistance as the floods like in many other places have caused untold hardship, leading to palpable fear in the community.

The CDC Chairman said: “If you look at some parts of our alternate road called ring road, you’ll probably think the houses and homes flooded were few. But as we speak the entire community is flooded.Many residents here have been displaced, and so the remaining homes here have been overwhelmed by IDPs, both people from here and elsewhere.

“The worst is that the Imiringi-Yenagoa road, our quickest and easiest access road to Yenagoa, the state capital have been totally submerged and cut-off by the floods. Now we can hardly access Yenagoa, due to high fares charged by transporters who would have to drive to parts of Rivers state before accessing Yenagoa, our state capital”, he said.

“All our internal roads are flooded, our churches, schools. All our farms have been destroyed by the floods. There’s untold hardship,etc. Infact the home of the PDP caucus Chairman for Ogbia LGA, our leader and father, Chief Innocent Afagha is also heavily impacted.

“As it were, we can only access parts of this Community through boats. We’re suffering like many other Communities visited by the state governor in the cause of empathizing with impacted Communities.

“We’re calling on the state government and good spirited individuals to assist this community in our efforts to cushion the effects of this killer floods”.