Anambra ready for 2023 flood---SEMA
By Chinyere Nwoye
The Anambra State Government says it has made adequate preparations toward ensuring that flood disaster is contained if it eventually occured this year as predicted.
The Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Chief Paul Odenigbo said this during training for the Local Emergency Management Committee and some Health workers in all the 10 flood-prone Local Government Areas of the state held at Anambra East LGA Headquarters, Otuocha.
Represented by an Administrative Officer in the Agency, Mrs. Rita Omega, the SEMA Executive Secretary said that the training was part of the preparations given the predictions made by all the relevant government agencies that there would be floods in about 32 states of the country, including Anambra.
Chief Odenigbo who noted that the Agency had carried out sensitization in all the riverine areas, urged the people to be prepared to relocate to higher grounds whenever they are called to do so as adequate arrangements had been made for holding Camps for them.
The Representative of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Enugu Zone, Mr. Kennedy Eke urged the Local Emergency Management Committee and other relevant stakeholders in the various riverine areas to be at alert and ensure that they notify the state and federal agencies whenever they get notifications of increase in water level.
In a remark, the Transition Committee Chairman, Anambra East LGA, Dr. Anselem Onuora said that they were making adequate arrangements to ensure that lapses observed during the last year's flood incident are corrected especially in the area of hygiene and medical care of victims in the camps.
According to him, the local government had concluded plans to engage volunteer health workers who will assist in the provision of services especially to nursing mothers and pregnant women as well as children and aged persons.
The Assistant Field Coordinator, International Organization for Migration, Anambra state, Mr. Hezekiah Samuel said the essence of the training was to equip the LEMC with the relevant knowledge they needed in order to be able to act as first responders during flood outbreaks in their localities.
Mr. Samuel noted that community engagements and participation in the clearing of blocked drainage channels as well as sensitization would no doubt go a long way in mitigating the envisaged disaster.
Another resource person and First Aid Instructor from the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Mr. Diken Frances, called on the participants to note that the objective of first responders is to save lives, prevent situations from getting worse and promote quick recovery of victims.
A consultant and an expert in flood mitigation, Mr. Chukwudi Onyejekwe enumerated seven activities that first responders must consider whenever there is an emergency.
They include considering the situation very well, what is the correct thing to be done, creating a rallying point, considering a safe route, identifying affected persons and review of actions already taken for safety.
The Co-ordinator, Local Emergency Management Committee, Anambra State, Mr. Nnamdi Esimai commended the administration of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo for the training which he said would go a long way to empower them to attend responsively to flood disasters and other emergencies in the state.
There was a demonstration of the First Responder's Action in evacuating flood victims at the training which was presented by a team from the Nigeria Red Cross Society. (MOI)
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