Ebonyi State government said that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camps have been built and food stocked to ensure adequate provision for any eventuality as the state witnesses rainfall and possible flooding this year.
The state commissioner for human capital development, Mrs Ann Aligwe, disclosed this in Abakaliki, the state capital while speaking with newsmen.
The state has experienced heavy downpours in the last week, raising the fear of possible flooding in some communities prone to flooding.
She said the state government was not praying for a flood in the state, but it was necessary not to be taken unawares. “That’s why we built the IDPs camps and stockpiled food for those who may be affected by the disaster,” she added.
Aligwe said the state has sensitised the people to vacate waterways to prevent the disaster.
“We are not praying for a flood, but we have stockpiled our stocks, waiting for it. We pray that the flood will not come so that we can distribute the food to our people.
“Our governor is already preparing IDPs camps. We are preparing a place where we will relocate the victims to the camps if anything happens.
“Since May, we have been sensitising our people that floods are about to come, and they should clear from waterways.
“Ebonyi State is an agrarian state. When you advise our farmers to relocate from waterways, they will always tell you nothing will happen.
“You know it’s not easy to tell somebody to relocate from where the person is staying. They will tell you that’s the place where their mothers and fathers were buried, and you want them to relocate and go to where?
“But they are heeding our advice, so many of them are leaving waterways because we don’t want to lose any life in Ebonyi State,” she stated.