National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has cautioned Local Government Areas in Abia State of pending flooding that will occur in the State during the peak of the rainy season.
The agency specifically pointed that eleven out of the seventeen LGAs in State are prone to flooding disaster. It warned of flooding of the areas between July and September 2024.
According to NEMA, the LGAs prone to be affected by the flooding include Aba North, Aba South and Osisioma Ngwa. Others are Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East, Ukwa West, Umuahia North, Umuahia South, and Umunneochi.
However, to mitigate the effects of the impending flooding, the agency has embarked on downscaling of flood. This, it said, is to educate stakeholders and residents of the affected LGAs on proactive measures. And educate them on early warning strategies for early actions.
NEMA disclosed this during a one-day sensitization programme held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium Umuahia.
The event was sequel to the rainfall and flood advisories contained in the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP); and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency; and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), respectively.
According to reports. NIHSA had predicted in the 2024 AFO that 31 States with 148 Local Government Areas would witness high flood risk. While 35 States, including FCT with 249 LGAs were considered to fall within the moderate flood risk areas.
“The remaining 377 LGAs were forecasted for the low flood risk areas,” according to NIHSA.
According to the Director General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, the essence of the event was to arm the stakeholders with the necessary information about flooding prediction in their environment. And also to prepare them for proactive measures to minimize the impact of flooding on the people.
“Management of disaster risk in contemporary times is everyone’s business”, Umar maintained. He, however, solicited the cooperation of Communities in the State.
Umar noted that the flood risk areas had already been presented with their degree of vulnerability.
He stressed that “this will help to serve as a tool for governments at all levels. And to help develop risk reduction measures and avert disaster losses during this rainy season.”
The NEMA boss emphasized that the downscaling and sensitization of the 2024 flood early warning strategies for effective early actions, was to save lives and livelihoods during the rainy season.
According to him, the devastating impacts of flood over the years especially that of 2012 and 2022 have served as a wakeup call to all tiers of Governments to collaborate with the NEMA, to manage disaster risks and associated hazards.
He lamented that “In the recent past, lives have been lost, means of livelihood and infrastructure amounting to billions of Naira have been destroyed. And this is due to unmitigated incidences of floods.”
Umar, therefore, urged stakeholders to initiate without delay, actions that would help minimize the impacts of flooding.
“All of us are expected to take actions that will drastically reduce the adverse impacts of floods on the entire landscape and the Nigerian population. Especially for the most vulnerable persons living in communities identified to be at risk of flooding.”
“To safeguard our assets and cultural heritage against the impact of this year floods. NEMA, after a two-day Stakeholders’ Technical Meeting in April and Emergency Coordination Forum in May, 2024, analyzed disaster risk management implications of the forecasts. And designed and incorporated direct risk communication and engagement approaches to disseminate early warning messages for early actions at the State, Local Government and Community levels.”
Umar, therefore, commended the efforts of Abia State Government towards reducing the risk of flooding. He, however, called for more collaboration with other tiers of Government and stakeholders in the State.
In his remarks, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, noted that 11 out of 17 LGAs in Abia, had been predicted to be under high and moderate flood risk areas.
The Governor, however, did not preclude the possibility of some LGAs outside the listed 11 being also affected by flooding.
Governor Otti who was represented by the Commissioner for Environment, Philemon Ogbonna, said that the essence of the sensitization was to build citizens’ resilience. And to also incorporate risk communication and engagement approaches to directly disseminate warning messages for early actions.
Ogbonna stated that the exercise was in line with the Governor’s vision to rebuild infrastructure in the State. And to help reduce the risk of flooding.
The Governor, therefore, called for synergy among all the necessary stakeholders in the State. He called on community leaders to help reduce the chances of flooding.
source: VANGUARD
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