The Ebonyi State Emergency Management Agency says it has embarked on proactive measures to prevent flood disasters.

The executive secretary of EBSEMA, Clement Ovuba, made this known in Abakaliki on Tuesday.

Mr Ovuba said that the agency had visited and was revamping its internally displaced camps, informing people living in water-prone areas to relocate to high-land areas to avoid disaster.

He added that the agency had facilitated the desilting of drainage channels to minimise flood impacts.

He said other strong measures include reactivating the local emergency management committee and establishing communication lines to get firsthand information of possible flood incidents at the rural level.

According to him, the residents are complying with precautionary measures and warnings given.

“We are really prepared to mitigate negativities that will come from flooding,” the executive secretary said.

Mr Ovuba further stated that the agency had received the 2026 seasonal climate prediction for preparation and mitigation strategies.

He said that while other activities were carried out on the preparation, the agency still awaited approval of funds from the state government to execute a massive sensitisation campaign.

He advised residents to take precautions and warnings from SEMA, environmental agencies and other concerned authorities to prevent disaster.

“We are waiting for the state government to release funds to continue our radio jungles, organise stakeholder meetings and other strategies to mitigate floods. The annual outlook of rain is anticipated to give us specific areas to watch out for,” he said.

The SEMA boss lauded Governor Francis Nwifuru’s intervention and support to survivors of the Okporojo attack in Edda, a local government of the state.

“Between January and now, we have attended to the land dispute attack on Okporojo people, where victims were assisted with about N70 million by the governor to cushion the effect of damage incurred.

“Building materials and foams, among other relief items, were given to victims whose houses were burnt during the attack. We had also attended to fire incident victims at Onuebonyi,” Mr Ovuba stated.

(NAN)