The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged residents of riverbanks to relocate to safer places citing previous flood impacts that some of the flood victims have not recovered from.
NEMA’s Director General, Mustapha Ahmed gave the directive on Wednesday, in Abuja at a technical meeting to develop preparedness and mitigation strategies to tackle climate-related disasters during this year’s rainy season.
Ahmed said the relocation of those living in flood-prone areas would reduce the impact of the predicted flood.
He said: “There is no doubt that today’s meeting has become more relevant and timely in consideration of our recent experiences of widespread floods and related disasters that have affected several states of Nigeria.
“The 2022 flood disaster, which is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria, has wreaked havoc in all the states of the country. Many of the affected communities are yet to recover from the impacts of the floods.
“The 2022 flood disaster, coupled with its associated hazards, is a wakeup call for emergency responders, development agencies, and partners to work assiduously to avert a repeat of the incident, especially in consideration of the heightened level of vulnerability in several communities of our country.
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“That is why we have started early: early warning, early action. We will make sure that we bombard everybody, every citizen, every local government, and every state government with information. We will make sure that everybody is aware that we are expecting flood this year. It is not a story.”
On how to mitigate the impact of the flood, Ahmed said: “Disaster happens in a particular location. So, what we expect first is the local and state governments who are the first responders to start developing mitigation strategy.
“Those living around the water channels should try to evacuate from those areas.”
The NEMA boss also said the agency would map out vulnerable areas, to be downscaled to states and local government authorities, its partners, and the general public.
NIHSA’s Director General, Clement Nze called for the dredging of Rivers Niger and River Benue, as well as other rivers in the state.
He said: “It is important that we dredge our rivers. I think one Chinese company is in talks with the government and actions have been taken with them to see how we can dredge rivers Niger and Benue to deepen the carrying capacity of these two rivers.
“State governments could also go to the small rivers in their states to de-silt the river channels to make sure that they carry more water than overtopping their boundaries and flooding the whole place.”
