NEMA assures Nigerians of preparedness to avert flood disaster

Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, Eng. Mustapha Maihaja has expressed preparedness of the agency to collaborate with other stakeholders to avert flood disasters.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja when he declared open the National Workshop on Flood Risk Mitigation, Preparedness and Response, he said with what is put on ground, the agency will curb flood disaster.

He said the national workshop was convened to provide the needed platform for principal actors in disaster management to collectively review the 2018 flood management operations, re-strategize to tackle any impending flood situation in 2019 as regards Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) for 2019.

Speaking to journalists, Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Mohammed Aminu Suleiman, disclosed that on the 1st of August this year, a heavy down pour occurred in the state and claimed seven lives while another heavy down pour on a different occasion and claimed four lives.

On his part, Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, Zachary Zamani Allumaga said some people have their farmland on illegal lands which intercepted the free flow of water to wrong places that was now causing floods.

The Executive Secretary, National Water Resources Institute, Prof. Emmanuel Adannu called for the construction of buildings above flood levels, creation of more flood barriers, better flood warning systems, introduction of water storage areas as measures to avoid flood disasters.