KAKATA, Margibi – A local disaster management committee made up of members of communities affected by recent flooding in Margibi are working ahead of the upcoming rainy season to prevent flooding in their communities.

Known as the Ben Creek Disaster Management Team, the group is working to improve the drainage system around the affected communities.

Speaking to reporters at the start of the project in Kakata, Benedict Sackie, who chairs the group, said members wanted to ensure that they lessen the impact of the flooding of the Ben Creek.

The body of water has been occasionally overflowing from its banks during the rainy season, often displacing hundreds of family members and destroying personal belongings in the process.

Many residents of the eight affected communities have blamed the frequent floods on people who build in waterways, in addition to those who mine the sand around the surrounding swamp.

Sackie said the communities had established the local disaster management team on February 15, 2018 to manage the flooding; however, he said the team can only effectively achieve its goal if it receives help from the government and international partners. He said the team needs an excavator to open the waterway to be 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

Vesselle Dennis, who is the chairman of Dennisville, one of the flood-affected communities, said they hope that after the flood prevention and drainage control project is complete, the team will embark on another project to dig four lagoons to hold the water during the rainy season. He also emphasized the need to receive support from the government.

Last year’s rainy season saw the flooding of the Roberts International Airport highway as well as the displacement of more than 1,000 residents of communities in Kakata.

Featured photo by Emmanuel Degleh