The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Zubaida Umar, has said agency is committed to deepening efforts towards surmounting flooding in affected areas across the country.

Ms Umar stated this on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at a sensitisation programme tagged “Downscaling flood early warning strategies to the grassroots in Rivers State.”

The director of disaster risk management, Daniel Obot, represented the DG, stating that the programme was based on the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s flood outlook prediction for 2024.

“NIMET and the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency predicted that some local government areas in Rivers will fall under high and moderately probable flooding; that is why we are here today,” she said

She said that NiMet listed 13 local government areas in Rivers as flood-prone in its 2024 outlook.

She listed the areas with probable high and moderate flood risk to include Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Degema, Emuoha, Oyigbo, Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Bonny, Port Harcourt, and Okrika, amongst others.

Ms Umar said that the essence of the programme was to educate residents of the state on possible actions and the need for communities to comply with early warning alerts.

The NEMA boss called for community-wide participation in the campaign to surmount the impact of flooding in the state

She reaffirmed the support of the agency in the area of supplies, safeguarding and ensuring uninterrupted socio-economic activities during the period.

She added, “We have come to educate residents of the state on actions to take and the need for communities to comply with these early warning alerts. We are satisfied with the collaboration so far. It’s a welcome development to see sister organisations, security agencies, government and individuals coming to brainstorm on risk reduction measures. For us, we have taken stock of the past; we have identified the gaps, so our strategies in 2024 will be to address those gaps.’’

The Director of emergency/disaster management for the Rivers Ministry of Special Duties, Tamunosiki Ogbanga, spoke at the event and urged the locals to take preventative measures to prevent property and human casualties.

He urged residents of the state to avoid acts capable of blocking the drains and effective flow of rainwater.

South-South Zonal Coordinator, NEMA, Adebiyi Rasak, said the agency had taken timely and proactive steps in preparation for the flood prediction.

“Towards the end of the year, there will be a peak period when floods will impact these communities; we are aware of this. So we are making sure of essentials, such as makeshift camps and stockpiles of food in these areas, to support the affected people. We are getting them aware and also ensuring that the state emergency management agency activates emergency operation centres in collaboration with NEMA and other stakeholders,” he said.

The zonal coordinator urged residents of the affected communities to be more environment-friendly to reduce the impact of the flooding.

(NAN)