DELTA HIGHLIGHTS CURRENT FLOOD CONTROL EFFORTS AMIDST HEAVY RAINFALL
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Wednesday night, after several hours of intense rain, vehicles were stopped at Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area, Delta State.
As they struggled to find their way out of the flooded road, some motorcyclists were carried away and other vehicles were trapped.
Although there were no reported casualties in the natural disaster, millions of naira’s worth of property was damaged.
Some motorcycles were taken away, according to the source in the widely shared video, while furniture and other items were destroyed.
The Lagos-Asaba freeway should have storm drainage on both sides, according to the people’s recommendation.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State responded to the widely shared video on Thursday by urging citizens, organizations, and stakeholders to take proactive and coordinated action to lessen the effects of natural disasters.
Speaking through Mr. Charles Aniagwu, the State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Oborevwori underlined the importance of community involvement, readiness, and sustainable practices in order to protect people and property.
He said, “Yesterday most of you saw and witnessed the very heavy downpour across the state and then the havoc it wreaked on some properties particularly vehicles and motorcycles in the Ika axis.
“I am sure it happened in other places, but it wasn’t that devastating, and we needed to address it for individuals to know what is expected of them, even as governments have continued to take actions to mitigate such occurrences.
“We are also happy that in Asaba the rain was also quite heavy but we did not see that level of disturbance. We have before now as a government been able to pay good attention to flood control measures.
“I am happy that all of you are very much aware of it that for the majority of the roads we have constructed we ensure that we have dual drains.
“In some instances, we have proceeded to build storm drainage. You are also very privy to the fact that this administration has also continued along that trajectory.
“Not long ago you accompanied the governor to inspect the storm drainage across the Ogbeogonogo market which is one of the eight phases of the outcome of a study that was carried out by the previous administration.
“Some of you also accompanied us to the area behind the Asaba Specialist Hospital, where you also saw a huge drainage and another storm drainage.
“You are aware of the effort to complete the storm drainage in the Owa-Alero axis and the storm drainage we are building in the Osubi, Okuokoko, Ugolo-Okpe, and the Warri axis, in addition to the many side drains that we are building along the roads that we are constructing.
“But what we have seen over time as a challenge, which we have continued to emphasize the need for people to become much more responsive and responsible in preventing floods.”
The governor felt sorry for those whose cars or motorcycles were lost or damaged in the flood.
In order to create a more resilient Delta State, he asked citizens to follow safety regulations, embrace eco-friendly behaviors, and cooperate.
“Today you see a number of persons when they come out from their homes they heap refuse inside these drains hoping that the flood water would help to convey such debris to a natural water course.
“By the time you do that, you have also undermined the current capacity of that water channel to the estuaries and tributaries that feed into these storm drainages.
“These tributaries that come from different shorter streets, smaller roads, have also been seriously undermined by human factors, even when governments have spent billions of Naira building and constructing these drains.
“If you move out, you will see across different places how individuals are undermining the carrying capacity of the drains that were built by heaping refuse in these drainages,” he added.
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