By Eze Nkechi
To enhance flood risk management, NEMA’s Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, has mobilized all zonal, territorial, and operational offices to collaborate with state emergency management agencies (SEMAs) in their respective areas, coordinating rescue efforts and conducting thorough assessments of the flood situation.
NEMA has strategically situated its zonal, territorial, and operational offices in 16 locations across the country, including Lagos, Ibadan, Ekiti, Abuja, Minna, Jos, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Edo, Uyo, Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Yola, and Gombe. Additionally, NEMA operates a dedicated emergency hotline – 0800CALLNEMA (080022556362) – and actively monitors its social media platforms to receive feedback and alerts from the public nationwide.
Consequently, NEMA Search and Rescue officers have been deployed across the states and providing the much desired support in coordination of rescue operations with SEMAs and other stakeholders at recently flooded areas and communities. The Agency is also conducting rapid assessment to determine any further assistance that may be required in the impacted communities.
The rescue efforts by NEMA is in addition to the ongoing sensitization and awareness activities being carried out to alert the public of the predicted flood for necessary actions to be taken to avert negative impacts.
On Wednesday 3rd July, the Director General NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar was in Anambra State on flood advocacy where she discussed with the Deputy Governor who represented the Governor, religious and community leaders on measures to avert and mitigate against flood in the state which often record severe flooding annually. She has also previously visited several states and stakeholders across the country on the same mission with plans to continue with the advocacy.
As part of its pre-rainy season flood prevention advocacy, the Agency engaged the media in the placement of flood sensitization jingles, held emergency coordination forum with critical stakeholders to prepare them for the predicted disaster.
The Agency, had soon after the flood prediction written all State Governments with the list of Local Governments that are at risk and outlined actions required to be taken also to avert or mitigate against the disaster. A number of states that heeded the advisory from NEMA have acknowledged their early actions matched with the warnings and NEMA responses that have made lots of differences.
NEMA wishes to reemphasize the flood warning while calling on all stakeholders including State and Local Government to be prepared with the intensifying of the rain season.
