The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged residents of flood-prone communities in Abia to prepare towards mitigating the impact of flooding during the year.

The director-general, Zubaida Umar, made the call at a programme to sensitise residents to adopt strategies towards reducing the effect of flooding  in their communities.

The theme of the programme is ”Downscaling of 2025 Flood Early Warning Strategies to Grassroots Level for Effective and Efficient Early Actions”.

Represented by Walson Brandon, the director of the South-East zone, Ms Umar said that engaging stakeholders on national disaster preparedness and response was one of the agency’s yearly risk management assignments.

Speaking at the event co-organised with the Abia State Emergency Management Agency, the D-G stated that it was important for flood-prone communities to ensure early action before the rains intensified.

She said that the programme was also to educate residents of flood-prone communities in the state about the implications of the 2025 flood forecasts.

Ms Umar further said that the 2025 flood outlook by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) listed eight local government areas in the state as flood-prone.

“So this programme is aimed at promoting early action to save lives and livelihoods during the 2025 rainy season.

“As part of our flood early warning activities, NEMA has identified disaster risk management implications and mitigation strategies for communication to communities at risk.

“We have also produced vulnerability maps for all communities at risk to serve as guiding tools for governments at all levels to develop risk reduction measures,” she said.

Governor Alex Otti urged the stakeholders to take the programme seriously in order to acquire the requisite skills to contain flooding and to disseminate the information to the grassroots.

Represented by Philemon Ogbonna, the commissioner for environment, Mr Otti commended NEMA for its proactive approach to disaster and emergency situation management.

“This initiative is in line with our government’s environmental projects in road construction, drainage and erosion control,” he said.

Also speaking, Sunday Jackson, the executive secretary, Abia State Emergency Management Agency, said that Abia was listed among 30 flood-prone states in 2025 by NIMET and NIHSA.

Mr Jackson expressed the state government’s commitment towards educating the public on the measures to mitigate the impact of the 2025 flooding.

“The essence of this programme is to build resilience and courage among residents of flood-prone communities in the state.

“No fewer than 67,512 persons were affected by the 2024 flooding across the 17 local government areas of the state; about 27,550 of them were displaced.

“We are working to stockpile relief materials for communities that may be affected by flooding so that the response can be effective,” he said.

The secretary further said that the state government would ensure early establishment and training of local emergency management committees for effective results.

The programme assembled government officials, security personnel, paramilitary agents, traditional rulers, risk reduction and disaster management experts, community leaders, among others.

(NAN)