Ahead of the impending flooding predicted in some states across the country in 2024, the federal government is set to commence the clearing of debris from water channels and dams.
Speaking at the national emergency coordination forum meeting in Abuja, the director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, said the interventionist agency will continue to intensify efforts to take proactive measures to reduce the impact of the predicted flooding to the minimal in the event of the occurrence of flood or other disasters.
According to her, "As you may be aware, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) have both released the Seasonal! Climate Prediction (SCP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) respectively for 2024.
"The prediction informed that in April, May and June period, 25 States and 72 local government areas (LGAs) are within flood high-risk areas, indicating heightened vulnerability to flooding. This vulnerability is said to persist into subsequent months of July to September with 33 states and 135 LGAs identified as high-risk areas, while the period between October and November has 19 states and 44 LGAs.
"As is always the case, after the releases, the National Emergency Management Agency convened a two-day Experts' Technical Meeting of relevant stakeholders from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the academia on April 17 and 18, 2024 to analyze the disaster management implication of the SCP and AFO predictions. The deliberation by the experts brought about the development of 2024 climate-related disaster preparedness and mitigation strategy as it affects Agriculture and Food Security, Water Resources, Transportation, Health, Telecommunication and Power Generation and Distribution.
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"Based on the predictions, various recommendations have been made as preparedness and mitigative actions to be taken by relevant stakeholders to reduce possible impacts. This also serves as early warning message to the general public.
"Some of the recommendations include but not limited to community sensitization and awareness campaign to ensure early desilting and clearing of debris in water bodies to prevent blockages; monitoring of dam discharge and regulations, as well as creating detention dams, and the need for sub-national entities to mobilize flood prone communities to clear water ways and channels and relocate from flood plains."
In his goodwill message, the director-general of NIHSA, Engr. Clement Nze, urged the stakeholders to heed the message from NEMA and take seriously the flood predictions generated in the AFO and support efforts towards averting flooding and loss of lives this year.
Also, the director-general, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr Mohammed Babgana Bulama, who was also at the meeting, assured the support of his agency to further the awareness on the dangers of flooding in the country.
