Residents of Bayelsa State are increasingly alarmed as intensifying floods, exacerbated by persistent heavy rainfall, disrupt local communities.
While water levels remain below the severe flooding of 2022, several communities — including Amassoma, Biseni, Anibeze, and Akenpai—have been inundated.
The Flood and Erosion Control Directorate has reassured residents that water levels should start to recede within days. Walson Omuso, Head of the Directorate, told newsmen on Wednesday in Yenagoa that recent rains, accompanied by thunder, indicate a possible decrease in water levels.
Omuso explained that while flooding cannot be fully prevented due to rainfall, its impacts can be mitigated.
“The flood will subside soon. In about three or four days, you will begin to see signs. The rain these days, accompanied by thunder, shows that the water will recede soon. Our work is not about aiding flooded communities but about prevention, though flooding cannot be stopped as it results from rain,” he said.
He also noted that his agency has been clearing water channels to aid runoff and drainage.
A resident of Akenpai in Yenagoa, Amos Aherhoke, shared that if he had not elevated his floor, water would have overtaken his home.
He explained that he has to roll up his trousers whenever he leaves or returns home due to the flooding.
A farmer in Anibeze, Sagbama Local Government Area, Joshua Odoko, said that floodwaters have covered the community, forcing him to begin harvesting his cassava early to avoid losses.
The issue was also highlighted on social media by the Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Defenders Network, Comrade Alagoa Morris, who shared details of the flooding in Biseni, Yenagoa Local Government Area.
In Obogoro, along the Yenagoa-Oporoma road, homes have also been flooded, and residents have constructed makeshift wooden bridges to access their houses.
Farmers, especially those yet to harvest their crops, remain particularly concerned. One farmer, who had been waiting to harvest his potatoes in hopes of better prices, said that with the rising water levels, he might need to harvest them soon.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he noted, “I left the potatoes in the hope that prices would increase, but with the way the water is rising, I may have to harvest them soon.”
