Some of the residents who spoke with SaharaReporters on the phone said that the surge started on Friday and has overrun every natural barrier that was holding back the flood.

Residents of Sangana community in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the hometown of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly Speaker, Abraham Ingobere, have been thrown into panic and lamentation as the Atlantic Ocean surge has taken over the community.

Some of the residents who spoke with SaharaReporters on the phone said that the surge started on Friday and has overrun every natural barrier that was holding back the flood.

According to them, more than 25 percent of the areas had been affected by the flood as it is also currently climbing directly into the town. They lamented that if nothing is done urgently, it will take over the whole community before the end of the year.

Calling on the Speaker for immediate intervention, one of the residents who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “The flood started on Friday. The surge overran the natural barrier. We started experiencing it on Friday and it has taken over more than 25% of where it had taken before. Since Friday, it has claimed over 25% of the land.

“The water has been rising and it is coming into the town. The whole of the sea side called Okologboko has been taken over and it is now pushing directly to the town. The whole natural barrier, the mangrove have all been overrun.

“It has climbed to the town directly now. If we don’t do something very fast, Sangana may be wiped off before the next three years. If nothing is done urgently, before this year’s rainy season will end, it will take over more than half of Sangana.

“There is panic everywhere. Everybody is calling on the Honourable Speaker of the House of Assembly to come and see the situation and do something. We are in a serious problem.”

The residents lamented though Sangana is the host community for Conoil and Agip oil, the multinational oil companies and the government have neglected the community and “They are watching while the town is being washed away by water.”

Lamenting the neglect by the oil companies and the government, some of the residents whose homes have been completely taken by the flood said in some videos of the disaster they recorded that “No sleep for the wicked, God should just have mercy upon us.” (SaharaReporters)