Send relief materials to storm ravaged community, lawmaker urges Bayelsa govt

The Lawmaker representing Yenagoa Constituency 3 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Gentle Emelah has appealed to the state government to urgently come to the aid of the people of Biseni Clan who lost their buildings and properties to a violent storm which swept through their community on Monday evening.

The lawmaker who said he had visited the area to commiserate with people who he represents in the Assembly described the incident as devastating.

“First I give God the glory that no life was lost because what I saw there was devastating and it is something that possibly life could have been lost. The destruction was massive, over thirty buildings were affected, buildings were de-roofed, personal buildings, public buildings, schools, even churches were not spared; economic trees and electric poles. In the final count, about 12 electric poles were pulled down.

“It’s something one could describe as a hurricane, if it were to be in the Western countries; they would have given it a name, ‘Hurricane Biseni’. It’s a very serious issue and people are rendered helpless and we expect that the government should step in immediately to see what they can do to alleviate the suffering of the people because a lot of properties have been damaged.

“People are rendered homeless and they need serious attention. I thank God it happened in the early hours of the evening around 5.30; 6pm.

That was why we didn’t record any casualty”, he said in an interview Wednesday.

It was gathered that the areas worst hit by the rainstorm are Kilama, Tein, Tambiri, Egbebiri communities within Biseni.

The paramount Ruler of Kilama, Chief Difference Nemiya, told newsmen on Wednesday, that the incident which occurred on Monday evening also destroyed many plantain plantations and farm crops as well as economic trees.

” This natural disaster is the worst I have witnessed in this community, there was one that happened in the year 2000, but it was not this bad, as we speak we are still counting our losses and the community is in an emergency mode.

“The secretary of the community and some community leaders assignedto visit affected families have been going round and accessing the damages and it even affected our neighbouring settlements.

“Most of those displaced have nowhere to go and we need emergency

help from relevant government agencies to bring relief and succor to the impacted people,” the Paramount Ruler said.

Also, one of the victims, Mr Godhelp Okorobia, said that the storm destroyed both his father’s house and his own house sacking seven of his tenants.

“We were at a meeting when the weather changed and the windstorm started, my father’s house which is near our meeting venue was de-roofed by the wind and dropped in a different location entirely, when I got home I saw my own house in ruins,” Okorobia said.

The same sad tale was told by another victim, Mrs. May Zuku, a 75-year-old widow who said that the disaster which happened within two weeks of her husband’s demise was another blow too much for her to bear within the mourning period.

She appealed to Yenagoa Local Government, Bayelsa government and public spirited individual to assist with rehabilitating her husband’s residence destroyed by the incident.

Also narrating his woes, Mr Ogiama Solomon, a farmer said that his plantain farm was badly destroyed while the electric pole fell on the roof of his residence. He thanked God for sparing human lives in the entire community.

“In the midst of our loss, we thank God that there was no loss of life, the electricity pole out there fell near where a petty trader and her baby stay to sell and they were unhurt, it is indeed a miracle,’ Solomon said.

Deputy Paramount Ruler in Kilama, Mr Lawrence Benneth, who also lost part of his roof appealed for relief materials to affected members of his community.

He, however, said that the Member Representing the area in the state House of Assembly Hon. Gentle Emela had visited the area and pledged to draw the attention of the state government to the plight of the people.