Bayelsa State Government has constituted a task force to mitigate the effects of flooding in the state stating that the task force would urgently identify and inspect areas ravaged by flood as well as provide succour to victims. The committee was set up during the weekly state executive council meeting yesterday presided over by the deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Commissioner for Environment, Iselema Gbaranbiri, said the committee had himself and his counterparts from the ministries of works and infrastructure, health, lands, housing and urban development as well as the commissioners representing the three senatorial districts and the state emergency management agency (SEMA).
The task force, it was said, will relocate affected persons to higher grounds and provide relief materials. Also, the commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Moses Teibowei, said the government was aware of the flood situation in the state and set up the committee to alleviate the suffering of the people.
He added that beyond providing short term relief for victims, the committee had the responsibility of proffering medium and long term solutions to the issue of flooding in the state. Teibowei said as part of efforts to reduce the impact of flooding, the government has built flood barriers in some communities, saying its officials will assess the effectiveness of such barriers before taking a decision to either replicate or improve on them in other parts of the state.