NEMA Steps Up Flood Awareness in High-Risk Areas
By Chinyere Nwoye
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is intensifying an early efforts aimed at enlightening people and communities in flood prone areas of the country on this year's flooding and how to prevent loss of lives and property.
The NEMA Director General, Mrs . Zubaida Umar gave this assurance during a courtesy call on the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo at the new Government House, Awka.
While buttressing her points on the reasons for the visit, the DG said that the entourage comprised of NEMA and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
"We have come to brief the governor on the stakeholders engagement exercise on the 2025 National Preparedness and Response Campaign on flood disaster and its related hazards."
Represented by the Deputy Director Special Duties, Dr. Thickman Tanimu, the NEMA boss noted that the aim of the exercise would be successful with the support of SEMAs, LEMCs and community volunteers across the country.
"The NEMA Zonal Directorates and Operations Offices spread across the nation would simultaneously drive the engagement process at the state and community levels.
"We are calling on all stakeholders to support NEMA in the initiative of taking the early warning messages to the people to safeguard against past experiences.
"The role of traditional institutions, religious organizations, women and youth groups and the media has become paramount in this effort.
"I find it necessary, our esteemed partners, distinguished ladies and gentlemen to stress that disaster management across the world is predicated on community participation and due consideration to diversity of persons; leaving no one behind.
As we always emphasize at NEMA, ‘‘disaster management is everyone’s business, we must work together to take the right and early warning to specific groups to safeguard communities at risk."
She called for the protection of critical infrastructure and the support of uninterrupted socio-economic activities in the various communities across the nation saying it will go a long way in reducing the impacts of the annually recurring floods and safeguard the livelihoods of the people.
She added that this could be the guaranteed path of driving socio-economic growth and development in line with the renewed hope agenda of the federal government.
"The Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo said the state having some of the flood prone local government areas, is always on top of the situation in terms of preparedness and proactive measures against the natural occurrence," she said.
Anambra State Governor represented by his Deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, said that his administration is very deliberate about the termination of all water channels in the various roads being constructed in the state as the contractors are mandated to channel drainage ways down to nearby rivers to avoid flash flooding.
"While flood disaster is a natural disaster, the state is taking deliberate actions to discourage people from building on waterways and blocking drainage channels.
"In readiness for any flood menace, plans are on to have game facilities and other basic amenities in all the holding camps and centres in the state to make it more habitable within the period."
In attendance at the meeting were, the Commissioners for Environment, Dr. Felix Odimegwu, his counterpart in the Ministry of Information, Dr. Law Mefor, the Executive Secretary, SEMA, Chief Paul Odenigbo and others.
* Nwoye is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State *
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