Skip to main content

Flood alert: NEMA warns 28 states, 102 local governments

                                      

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has alerted that 28 states and 102 local governments might be at risk of flooding due to impending heavy rainfall.

Mr Olusegun Afolayan, Director, Operations of NEMA in charge of Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states gave the warning while speaking with newsmen after sensitising some residents on how flooding could be avoided on Friday in Akure.

The alert is coming against the backdrop of warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT) on the weather forecast.

Afolayan said the programme, in collaboration with the Ondo State Management Emergency Agency (SEMA), was part of the agency’s pro-activeness to responding to warning alerts by different agencies dealing with weather.


He said that the states under his jurisdiction were also part of the 28 states and the 102 local governments that were risk prone to flooding.

That is the “reason the agency is sensitising ahead of the impending danger’’.

“Flooding is not always caused by heavy downpour alone, but when dams were opened too, it always leads to flooding.

“There is a prediction from NiMeT in February, and Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) in May, informing us of impending heavy rainfall due to climate change and the ozone layer that will lead to flooding.

“About 28 states and 102 local governments have been earmarked for this possible flooding.

“So, we have to carry out sensitisation programme in the three states under my purview.

“We sensitised them about the need not to drop wastes in the gutter or the water paths.

“Those that built on the flood plains should move away in other to avoid the imminent flood disaster that is likely to happen between the month of August and October.

“And if flooding happens, it will lead to loss of lives and properties and we have to forewarn communities that may be affected.

“Causes of flooding are numerous; it’s not about rainfall alone but when the dams cannot accommodate more water,’’ he said.

Also, Mr Olufemi Obideyi, Secretary of SEMA in Ondo State, said that apart from the warning from relevant agencies, his agency was always creating awareness through different programmes to forestall flooding.

Obideyi said people should not see the agency as a palliative sharing agency after disasters, but as a proactive one.

“Flood can cause cholera outbreak because if drinking water is affected, it will lead to cholera outbreak and we don’t want that to add to the coronavirus pandemic that the whole world is already battling with,’’ he said.

Credit-PMnews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Danfo driver sentenced to 1 year in prison for stabbing LASTMA official

A commercial bus driver, who stabbed an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment. Kenneth Anyanwu stabbed Olanrewaju Yusuf with a broken bottle following a disagreement on April 26, 2018. Yusuf, a LASTMA official, attempted to arrest Anyanwu for picking passengers at undesignated bus stops between Obanikoro and Palm Grove in Lagos, but Anyanwu resisted arrest, then he picked up a broken bottle and stabbed Yusuf in the palm. Anyanwu was sentenced by a Lagos State Mobile Court sitting in Oshodi. Magistrate F.O. Ikobayo convicted Anyanwu after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of assault and breach of peace. She sentenced him to one year imprisonment or a fine of N50,000. The magistrate also ordered the convict to pay N80,000 for Yusuf’s medical bills.
Post a Comment
Read more

America's Got Talent sued for wrongful death of wheelchair-bound woman

                      America's Got Talent (AGT) is being sued for the wrongful death of a woman who was injured as she tried to maneuver a motorized wheelchair over cables for the show's taping. According to documents obtained by TMZ, Maureen Allen was working as a volunteer at the Pasadena Convention Center in March 2017, and AGT was also on the premises preparing for a taping. Maureen's estate says in the suit that a large power cord protector was blocking the only disabled access ramp to the auditorium. The estate says Maureen tried to roll over the protector, but her front wheel got caught and her scooter flipped on its side, violently throwing her to the ground. According to the suit she suffered severe injuries to her head, arms, and hip. She had to be hospitalized, and suffered a stroke the next day. She also had to have hip surgery and remained in declining health for several months. After ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Suicide bomb attack kills at least three Somali soldiers outside Mogadishu

© AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh Somali soldiers stand at a Somali military base, near the site of the attack in a file photo At least three Somali soldiers were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afgoye district, a town 30 km to the north west of the capital Mogadishu, police and militants said. The attack was claimed by Islamist militants al Shabaab. Somali soldiers were deployed in Afgoye this week in efforts to tighten security in the town ahead of an expected visit by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo. "Police and military fired at a speeding suicide car bomb today and it exploded in Afgoye district. So far we know three soldiers died," Captain Nur Ali, a police officer, told Reuters by phone from Afgoye. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, citing a higher death toll than the police. "A suicide car bomb targeted Somali forces who were deployed ah...
Post a Comment
Read more