The Bayelsa State Post-Floods Management Committee (PFMC) and the Flood Research Group, Federal University, Otuoke, have agreed to collaborate in mitigating the anticipated floods in the state.

The two organisations had resolved to collaborate to proffer solutions to the impending floods in the state after a meeting held at the office of Bayelsa Post Flood Committee.

Speaking at the forum, Chief Francis Doukpola, Chairman of PFMC, said that an earlier briefing by the Flood Research Group of the university had necessitated the collaboration to mitigate the expected pains on the people.

He said that the committee had solicited the support of relevant government ministries and agencies, as well as health and physical infrastructure providers to contend the floods.

Doukpola said that the committee was eager to exchange ideas with experts from the university to jointly confront the flood with requisite technical expertise, and emphasised that the committee had been contending with the impacts of the 2012 floods that ravaged the state.

He said the Bayelsa Government had approved the setting up of permanent structures to serve as relief camps in rural communities to avoid overcrowded central camps, adding that seven out of the eight council areas were affected by the disaster.

Doukpola said that the committee had completed the first phase of distribution of 400 bags of cement to 20 worst hit families in each of the affected communities to rebuild and fortify their homes destroyed by the floods.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Bolaji Aluko, said that the 2012 floods had compelled the institution to suspend academic activities for two months shortly after its takeoff in 2012.

Aluko said the university was committed to contributing its technical and intellectual resources to tackle the floods for its own benefit, its immediate community and the state at large.

He said that the Flood Research Group of the university had commenced studies, using satellite imageries, ground maps and data from the Metrological Services, aimed at proffering short, medium and long-term solutions to the flood menace.

The vice-chancellor pledged that the team would fast-track its activities ahead of the projected flood season, adding that state was predicted to receive 2,444mm of rain in 2013, higher than the 2012 figure of 2,331mm.

He said that the experiences of the 2012 floods would provide a guide on what to expect in the coming months, and urged stakeholders to brace for the coming challenges.