Flooding: Agency acquires facilities to boost predictions

Shamonda told newsmen in Abuja that the acquisition of the equipment was made possible by funding from the Ecological Fund provided by the Federal Government.According to him, the government provided funding that enabled the agency to replace the equipment that were destroyed, damaged and washed away during the 2012 flood.“We are procuring the latest equipment […]

Shamonda told newsmen in Abuja that the acquisition of the equipment was made possible by funding from the Ecological Fund provided by the Federal Government.
According to him, the government provided funding that enabled the agency to replace the equipment that were destroyed, damaged and washed away during the 2012 flood.
“We are procuring the latest equipment that transmit through satellite from which I can get the water level of Lokoja from my computer in Abuja.
“This will enable me know if it is moving, rising and falling through inside tool transmission from most of our equipment and that is the only way you can really forecast.
 “When you have a fore knowledge, maybe it is rising in the next one hour and somebody says it is still raining, then you know it will continue to rise then you raise an alarm,’’ Shamonda explained.
He described some of the equipment as automated weather stations and environment monitoring tools while others were data collection platform, manual staff gauge, rain gauge and discharge measurement facilities.
He urged the media to spearhead the campaign against vandalism of government property, adding that the agency had lost some of its equipment to vandals.
Shamonda, however, said that in spite of people’s curiosity toward such property, youths in host communities should assist the agency to protect the equipment. (NAN)