The Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says it has activated emergency response centres across the country to help states tackle flooding.
NEMA’s spokesperson, Ezekiel Manzo, said the Director-General of the agency, Zubaida Umar, activated the emergency centres in states.
“The present urban flooding that has been witnessed in many states did not come by surprise. It is part of the situation that has been earlier forecasted and it was based on this forecast that NEMA had been carrying out various sensitization and stakeholder meetings in various locations on this same matter.
“So, following this situation, the Director-General has activated all the NEMA branch offices, they are all on standby and the DG has directed that they should work with the states to ensure that proper support is given to people affected in various locations,” Manzo said.
He also urged residents in areas prone to flooding to evacuate immediately.
On the response of the states, the spokesman said “Many states that received our alert have been responding positively to it. We have received a good response from Anambra. We were in Anambra on Wednesday where the DG met with the deputy governor of the state, who stood in for the governor.
“The DG also had meetings with traditional rulers and religious leaders on the flood situation and they were happy about the development. This is because the South-East, particularly Anambra State, is usually the worst hit.
“The message that was delivered to them was that people should not wait until the floods come. They should move away from the floodplains,” he stated.
Manzo also spoke on the recent slate of flooding in Lagos, saying “it was essentially because people built on the waterways and blocked drainages. So, the warning has been sounded, but the responses are not commensurate with what is expected
“This is why we are having this situation and NEMA is reiterating that the warning given to the public concerning the flood is not a joke. What we are seeing now is just the early part of the situation, we don’t know what it will look like as the rains intensify.”
Meanwhile, NEMA again stated that it had written letters to governors earlier on the impending floods, stressing that it was time for everyone to work together to tackle the challenge.
“NEMA wrote letters to all the state governments and they have been engaging the stakeholders. So now is the time for every organization that has something to do with disaster management to activate their resources for response to the floods.
“NEMA is also calling on state governments to know that this is the time for them to activate all their preparations for the flood. The Director-General of NEMA has activated all our zonal offices, they are 16 in number.
“The DG has instructed all offices, our offices nationwide, to work with the state emergency management agencies within their areas of responsibilities. For instance, we have our office in Ekiti that is responsible for Ekiti and Ondo,” Manzo stated.
He added, “So Ekiti office needs to work with the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency and Ondo State Emergency Management. We also have our office in Ibadan which is responsible for Oyo, Ogun and Osun.
“So, our officers in Ibadan, for instance, have been activated to work with the three states to make sure that the search and rescue operations in those areas are carried out effectively. So far, our officers have been deployed to the scene and they have responded to situations as they occur.”
