By Wendy Nweke

The Rivers State Taskforce on Flood Management said it has intensified efforts to evacuate persons trapped in some rural communities as the ravaging flood enters its fourth week.

The task force Chairman, Dr George Nwaeke, said this in Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state while distributing more supply of foodstuff and other relief materials.

Nwaeke reiterated the government’s commitment to ameliorating the hardship brought by the natural disaster, stressing that the task force was already working on a post-flood programme.

Nwaeke said, “I want to assure the public that we will continue to do this, and we assure you that those trapped in the various communities will be rescued and moved to higher ground.

“The governor has marched words with actions, the funds have been released and we are doing our best and we will continue to do our best to ensure that the people in this area do not feel the full impact of this natural disaster.”

The chairmen of Ahoada East and West Local Government Areas, Ben Eke and Hope Ikiriko, respectively, thanked the governor for his consistency from the first day the committee was inaugurated and the disbursement of the funds.

Bayelsa State Government

The Bayelsa State Government has urged the Federal Government to quickly implement the directive of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to reduce the suffering of the over one million persons who were displaced from 300 communities of the state by the flood.

Buhari had on October 16 expressed sadness over the devastation caused by the natural disaster in Bayelsa and directed relevant government agencies to provide all necessary assistance to the state.

The Commissioner for Environment and chairman of the State Flood Mitigation and Management Committee, Mr Iselema Gbaranbiri, made the call at the Oxbow Lake Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp in Yenagoa on Sunday.

He said more than 4,000 homeless individuals and families were being sheltered and fed daily at the Oxbow Lake IDP camp alone, stressing that the Governor Douye Diri-led administration is also taking care of a similar number of victims at the Igbogene and other IDP camps.

According to him, the delay in the implementation of the presidential intervention towards the emergency in Bayelsa had continued to reinforce the feeling of neglect by the Federal Government among the flood victims.

Gbaranbiri, who led officials of the committee on a routine inspection of the camps, said, “We need Federal Government’s urgent intervention.”

Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr Ayibaina Duba, called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps at preventing future occurrences by building dams and dredging the River Niger to contain floodwaters from the Cameroon Dam.

He also appealed to residents of the state to desist from erecting buildings on water channels, stressing that disregard for responsible environmental practices had contributed to the current flood situation in the state.

Snakebite cases

More cases of snakebites have been reported across the country as humans and reptiles clash in dry lands while scurrying away from devastating floods.

Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria who visited areas prone to snakebites and the treatment centres, discovered a sharp rise in the cases with more deaths recorded as the floods had also blocked access to treatment centres.

“Yes, I can confirm that there is a huge rise in snakebite cases; one of the victims is the wife of the village head of Magama in Langtang South Local Government of Plateau.

“It is a scary situation. Snakes and humans are all running away from the floods and would usually clash in the dry lands in the struggle for space,” Dr Nandul Durfa told NAN.

The former Chief Medical Director of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital also decried the shortage of ASV in the treatment centres.

Dr Abubakar Balla, Research Officer, Snakebite Research Hospital, Kaltungo in Gombe State, who also spoke with NAN, described the situation further.

He said, “Because of the devastating floods, farmlands are wet, and the snakes go to higher grounds where they mix with people.

“The situation is worse in Riverine areas around Borno, Adamawa, Kogi, Gombe and Bauchi.

“The floods force snakes to migrate or carry them along and deposit at the forests, homes or over riverbanks.”

Meanwhile, statistics from the hospital indicate that 1,900 victims of snake bites had been admitted since January.

According to Dr Suleiman Mohammed, its Chief Medical Officer, 34 of the victims died.

Source:punchng.com