The Edo State government on Monday threatened to demolish buildings erected on waterways and flood channels across the state with a view to mitigating the effects of flooding.

Executive Secretary of the Edo State Emergency Management Agency (EDOSEMA), Jerry Idahosa, who said this during a chat, said many buildings were found to have been erected on the Benin moats while drainages were blocked due to indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

According to Idahosa, the government has begun compiling names of victims of recent flood disasters from across the state, adding that the government has put in place various camps for displaced persons resulting from flooding.

He listed areas expected to have heavy flooding to include Illushi in Esan South East and the Estako Central and Estako East areas of the state.

The EDOSEMA boss said his agency has received names of 1000 farmers whose crops were swept away by the flood as well as 57 residents affected by the flood in Igarra.

He said, “Most of the issues we are finding, or rather we’ve discovered, are blocked drainages as a result of indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

“We are also making our plans working with the Ministry of Environment and the Edo Waste Management Board to see how we can implement stiff measures for those offenders or defaulters.

“Another area where we are also working is with the Ministry of Physical Planning because we have seen the majority of our moats have been blocked. Community leaders sold this moat, or rather, they filled up these moats, and they sold them to people to develop on them.

“We are working closely with the Ministry of Physical Planning to identify and mark these houses when they are identified. We’ll bring them down because it’s clearly stated that you know these are supposed to be waterways where floods are supposed to be channeled.”