Flooding: Edo deploys more relief materials to displaced persons

To reduce the effects of flooding across communities in the state, the Edo State Government has released more relief materials, including food items, kitchen utensils, sanitary kits, to communities affected by flood in the state’s three senatorial districts.

The items were released through the Edo State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for deployment to resettlement centers around flood-prone communities, where many people have been displaced by floods caused by torrential rainfall and overflow of the River Niger.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Mr. Yakubu Gowon, who spoke with journalists in Benin City, said that the state is mobilizing support to the affected communities to provide succour, and ensure that affected persons are not overly distressed at the resettlement camps.

According to him, “We are deploying these materials to cushion the effect of flooding in the affected communities. The relief materials include food items, kitchen utensils, bedding materials, sanitary kits, among others. We empathise with the people, and feel their pains. In times like this, there would be need for most of these items we are deploying to the camps, as a lot of food items might not have been salvaged by the people from their homes.

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“However, for the time they will spend at the camps, we want them to feel some comfort. In the coming days, we will be deploying more materials to the camps.”

Gowon said the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration will work assiduously to provide relief to the people, help in resettling the affected communities and provide needed support to mitigate the adverse effect of the floods.

Recall that the Edo State Government had initially mobilised relief materials to Ubiaja in Esan South-East and to Ekperi in Etsako Central as well as other parts of the state.

The government is also working with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Early Warning Mechanism for Nigeria (EWMN) to raise awareness on flooding and sensitise the people on safe environmental practices to mitigate the adverse effects of the disaster on communities.