Panic in Makurdi as NEMA prepares stakeholders against flood

The crowd of sympathizers who looked worried as the combined team of Red Cross, NEMA, Civil Defence personnel including other volunteer workers displaced expertise in administering first aid to the victims wondered if it was a boat mishap.Tension in the area doused after residents discovered that it was not accident after all but a mock […]

The crowd of sympathizers who looked worried as the combined team of Red Cross, NEMA, Civil Defence personnel including other volunteer workers displaced expertise in administering first aid to the victims wondered if it was a boat mishap.
Tension in the area doused after residents discovered that it was not accident after all but a mock exercise embarked upon by NEMA to build public awareness and preparation for the impending flood disaster predicted to happen before the end of this year.
There was actually nothing to fear as NEMA officials had in the field exercise prepared stakeholders in the North-central on flood pre-impact evacuation drill inorder to respond efficiently in the event of another flood disaster that may occur.
This is against the background of last year’s flood which caused unprecedented economic losses and human suffering in some states of the federation. For instance, in Benue, over 36,000 persons were displaced in five local governments of the state.
The State Emergence Management Agency’s Executive Secretary, Adikpo Agbatse had disclosed also that a minimum of 6,000 farmers were affected to the extent that the incurred loses worth N1.6 billion.
More worrisome is the fact that 12 local government areas have already been mapped as be places likely to experience heavy flooding this year if nothing was done at all to mitigate against the prediction.
However, Agbatse has intimated that the state agency has identified 28 evacuation sites and has assigned responsibilities to relevant stakeholders as part of its preparedness for the flood.
In the same vein, the North-central zonal office of NEMA has assured that it was leaving no stone unturned in a bid to promote synergy with other stakeholders to embark on proactive prevention and mitigation in order to reduce the impact and enhance planning, forecasting and field operation if disasters occur.

North-Central Zonal Coordinator, Muhammed Abdusalam said the drill exercise held in Makurdi became necessary following the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET) 2013 seasonal rainfall prediction that is expected to result in heavy flooding of some states in the nation.
Abdusalam noted that the flood pre-impact evacuation method offers the best practice in saving lives and properties as it provides for early evacuation of people, animals and properties from suspected areas to be affected by disaster to safer places.
He recalled that the devastating impact caused by the 2012 flood disaster as a result of excess release of water from the Cameroonian dam into river Benue has gone down in history as the worst flood experience in the country.