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.
Maihaja said:”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.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com