Governor Douye Diri has said the flood in his  State is overwhelming and beyond what the government alone can handle.

 He appealed for assistance from the Federal Government, local and international organizations as well as public-spirited individuals.

Diri appealed on statewide radio and television broadcast on Tuesday. According to him, the flood has severely impacted lives and livelihoods with nearly a million people in over 300 communities displaced and some deaths reported. He stated that he had toured several of the ravaged communities and seen firsthand the extent of the destruction. Diri said: “From my assessment, the situation is dire. Nearly a million people in over 300 communities in the state have been internally displaced. Unfortunately, some deaths have been reported. “The narrative is the same across Sagbama, Ekeremor, Southern Ijaw, Ogbia, Yenagoa, Nembe, and Kolokuma Opokuma Local Government Areas. Businesses have been shut down, properties lost and farmlands destroyed.

“Critical infrastructure like hospitals, roads, bridges, and schools, including the state-owned Niger Delta University, Amassoma, the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, and the University of Africa, Toru-Orua, have been severely affected. “Without exaggeration, the sheer scale of the devastation is not such that the state can handle it on its own. We urgently solicit the support of multinationals, international donor agencies, the Red Cross, diplomatic missions, and people of goodwill to come to the aid of our state. “I appeal to Mr. President to consider special grants to the state from the Stabilization Funds, Ecological Funds, and Natural Resources Fund.”

Diri lamented that the State had been severed from the rest of the country as portions of the East-West Road, which is the sole access to and from the state between Ughelli and Patani in Delta State as well as Okogbe and Ahoada in Rivers State, have collapsed.

He said economic hardship had set in as food, medical provisions, electricity, and fuel supply were now in short supply and getting worse by the day. Diri, however, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for directing the different rescue and disaster management agencies to assist the state and urged them to comply with the presidential directive expeditiously.

The Governor announced that all civil servants, except those on essential duties, proceed on a one-week break from work.

He appealed to vendors, particularly of fuel, food, water, and pharmaceuticals not to exploit the situation. He also stated that the Task Force on Flood Mitigation and Management in liaison with the State Emergency Management Agency had established internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and provided relief materials and medical supplies for victims of the flood. Diri cautioned officials in charge of the distribution of the relief materials to be non-partisan as the disaster knew no political party.