The Delta State government
has concluded plans to construct three permanent camps in its effort to mitigate the impact of flood in the state, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Chief Tony Nwaka, said.
The Commissioner who made the disclosure in an interview on Sunday in Asaba said the planned camp construction was sequel to the prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) on this year’s flooding in the country, where the agency listed Delta among the states that would experience the natural disaster.
Nwaka said the camps would be constructed in the three senatorial districts of the state, adding that the state government had already acquired land for one of the camps.
He noted that the formalisation of the land acquisition in Ogwashi-Uku Local Government Area of Delta North Senatorial District had reached an advanced stage.
The Commissioner said construction work would commence as soon as the acquisition process was completed adding that schools, health centres and other amenities would be provided in the various camps.
Nwaka added that the state government had also started negotiations with other communities, especially those located in the up-land in Delta Central and Delta South senatorial districts for the provision of land.
He appealed to communities in the up-land areas to make land available to enable the state government to construct the camps.
The Commissioner also disclosed that the ministry had been sensitising communities in flood-prone areas on the impending danger and had advised them to vacate to safe places to avert a recurrence of the 2012 incident which ravaged 14 local government areas of the state.
He said that the ministry, in conjunction with NIMET, had organised workshops for relevant agencies in the state on flood disaster management.
Nwaka also warned against dumping of refuse in drains and building on water ways to prevent the flooding.