Flooding: NEMA Declares
Flooding: NEMA Declares 12 Worst Affected
States
…. Receives UN Commendation
After its assessment, the National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) has declared 12 states along the River Niger and Benue as
worst affected by flood disaster this year while other states are
being monitored.
The Director General of NEMA, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja made the
disclosure when his agency hosted the monthly meeting of the Forum
of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (NEMA).
He said casualty have been recorded in several Nigerian states
following heavy rains that caused the Rivers Niger and Benue to
overflow. The worst affected states are Benue, Kogi, Niger, Kwara,
Anambra, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Adamawa, Kwara, Kebbi and
Taraba.
He said proactive intervention measures instituted prior to the
occurrence of the flood have prevented the situation from
aggravating to the point of the 2012 disaster. He added that even
the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria has
commended the proactive measure of his agency.
“Though concerns have been expressed over a possible repeat of
the 2012 flood disaster in some states when the River Niger
overflowed its banks, displacing many residents, this year we are
able to manage it.
“When the agency received the forecast of high rainfalls and
likelihood of the heavy flooding, immediately mobilized the
stakeholders in preparing ahead with all necessary resources for
preventive interventions. This mitigated against the worsening of
the situation as most of the communities at risks were evacuated to
safer higher locations ahead of the rising water level from the
rivers.
“With presidential directive, the agency also declared national
disasters in the initial six worst affected states and immediately
created Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) with officers deployed
to coordinate the interventions. The situation was also being
monitored with daily updates compared with the water level of the
2012 flood.
“We have sustained campaign advising residents on the flood
plains to immediately relocate to the upland areas or to the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps established to mitigate
the disaster
“It is obvious that we may have always seen the worst of the
situation and we are grateful to the Federal Government and
development partners, particularly the United Nations systems in
Nigeria for their supports and encouragement.”
He applauded the creation of the spokespersons’ forum of
Spokesperson of Security Agencies and charged the members to assist
in building cooperation among the government agencies in
information management
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of FOSSRA and Director of Defence
Information, Brigadier General John Agim commended NEMA boss for
his result-oriented commitment on restructuring, repositioning and
reorganisation of emergency risk reduction strategies in the
country.
General Agim said the spokespersons’ forum has continued to
achieve its objectives in promoting solidarity among the member
agencies and reducing conflicts and rancour in the management of
public information in Nigeria.
By PRNigeria