As floods continued upon most parts of the country, a woman and her baby have reportedly been swept off by the flood current when they tried crossing over the waters at Ihuike in Ahaoda axis of the East West road even as residents of Aeroplane Road in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta have raised the alarm over floating corpses from submerged cemeteries in their areas.
According to eyewitnesses the baby was found dead but the mother went missing
An eyewitness said that eight persons who were on a boat capsized leaving only four survival.
Meanwhile, the people of Ahaoda east have expressed fear over the flood waters increasing greatly upon the area, especially on the road as they say they feel trapped in their communities.
Some commuters who were stranded also expressed confusion over how they could travel to other states as they said the current is too high, calling on sthe tate government to help with devising their means of transportation.
Metrontworknews reports that people of Oyigba, Ogoba and other communities in Ahaoda West have been cut off from the rest of the state as six vehicles have reportedly been swept off by the flood while en-route. Though, we are yet to confirm if the passengers died.
Similarly, the alarm raised by residents of Bayelsa and Delta states came as several communities in Bomadi, Patani and Burutu local government areas of Delta State were yesterday sacked by the ravaging flood, with indigenes sleeping on top of Bomadi Bridge.
Raising alarm yesterday over the health implication of floating corpses in their community, residents of Yenagoa in Bayelsa called on the state government for immediate action to avoid a public health crisis.
Confirming the incident, a resident, Mr Emmanuel Oden, lamented that the floating corpses had become a recurring development during floods, adding that relocation of the cemetery is long overdue.
Oden further alleged that corpses at the cemetery were often buried in shallow graves of about 3 feet, rather than the recommended six feet prescribed by law.
Another resident Mr Ebi Owoupele, pleaded with the Bayelsa State Government to understand the plight of the people and assure them that the cemetery will be relocated.
Findings revealed that the morgue at Bomadi General Hospital and Olodiama had been submerged, also with floating corpses as a result.
Lamenting the situation in his community, the chairman, Bomadi federated community, Mr Seleyeibo Perekeme, said neither government nor political leaders from the area had responded to their call for help.
He said: “The entire Bomadi Local Government area is submerged, with only the council secretariat still standing because of community efforts.
“We’ve been able to dislodge the flood by blocking entry points with sand-filled sacks at the community waterfront through our earlier efforts. Now, the flood level has risen and we’ve been making similar efforts but we’ve run out of resources as a community.
“So, we’ve been calling on our political leaders to help since Bomadi is the last community standing and victims are fleeing in from neighbouring communities, such as Kpakiama, Oboro, Esanma, Tuomo, Tubegbe, Koloware, Ogboin-ama and many others in both Burutu and Patani council areas. Many victims are fleeing from Yenagoa to Bomadi.
When contacted, the state commissioner for environment and chairman of Bayelsa Flood Committee, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri, who confirmed that three floating corpses were recovered and reburied with the environment properly fumigated.
His words, “the floating of corpses were actually reported. First, as commissioner for the environment, I got the report of a floating corpse and directed my head of health and sanitation to get the corpse reburied. Later two more corpses were recovered and reburied and the environment was properly fumigated.”
