Anambra Assembly Advocates Permanent Holding Centres For Flood Victims

The Anambra State House of Assembly, passed a resolution urging the Governor, Professor Chukwuma build permanent holding centres in the state to enable flood victim in riverine areas to be evacuated during rainy seasons.

The lawmakers emphasized that the warning by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) should not be taken lightly, adding that a repeat occurrence would not mean well for the state.

The lawmaker Honourable Noble Igwe representing Ogbaru 1 state constituency, Okpoko who moved the motion for the building of permanent holding centres, said the centres should be built in all the upland local government areas of the state, to enable flood victim in riverine areas to be saved from flood disasters, particularly now that the disasters have almost become an annual occurrence,since 2012.

Noble Igwe stated that there had been regular annual overflow of the bank of River Niger, leading to flooding of the adjoining communities.

He affirmed that the previous administration did not provide adequate measures to curb the menace of flood in the affected areas.

“The devastating effect of the flood on lives, properties and activities within the affected region, are enormous.

“It is worrisome that people are normally displaced from their homes for some months on an annual basis with attendant hardship on life and health.

“The children and aged persons have become vulnerable to threatening hazards associated with the non-provision of adequate holding camps for such emergencies.

“Therefore, there is an urgent need for intervention. The state government can establish a standard holding centre for flood-displaced persons at strategic places to contain such anomalies,” he said.

On her part, Honourable Nkechi Ogbuefi, representing Anaocha Constituency l, said that the women and children usually suffer most during flooding in various parts of the country.

“The floods usually force hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and the majority of these people are women and children.

“Due to lack of shelter and camps, women and children are malnourished and they contend with water-borne diseases like cholera, malaria and dysentery.

“There is need to construct permanent IDP camps in those riverine areas with humanitarian assistance and medical services to safeguard their health and safety,” she said.

Meanwhile, Honourable Anthony Muobike, representing Aguata Constituency ll, stated that there was need to prioritize proactive measures to prevent the flood from affecting people and properties in the state.

Contributing, Mr Patrick Udoba representing Anambra West Constituency, urged the Federal Government to start immediate dredging of River Niger, River Benue and other rivers across the country, to curb the flooding menace.

The Speaker of the House, Honourable Somtochukwu Udeze called on Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to urgently construct and furnish permanent holding centres in the flood prone communities in the state,to avoid loss of lives and properties this year.