The federal government, on Monday, urged all the governments of the frontline states to commence the evacuation of people residing within flood-prone communities and ensure adequate stockpiling of food and non-food items, potable water, hygiene, safety and security to enable them a fair level of comfort during periods of possible displacement.
The affected frontline states are Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Kebbi and Kogi, while other states that are prone to flash floods in the southern part of the country are: Edo, Delta, Anambra, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa.
Director-general of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Ahmed issued the notice in Abuja during an emergency technical meeting convened to urgently review the emergency situation and to plan for further action by all emergency responders.
“We are aware that the released water cascades down to Nigeria through River Benue and its tributaries thereby inundating communities that have already been impacted by heavy precipitation.
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“The released water complicates the situation further downstream as Nigeria’s inland reservoirs including Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro are also expected to overflow between now and October ending according to NIHSA.
“According to NIHSA, Kainji and Jebba dams have already started spilling excess water from their reservoirs.
“I want to advise all the governments of the frontline states to move away communities at risk of inundation, identify safe higher grounds for evacuation of persons and preposition adequate stockpiles of food and non-food items, potable water, hygiene, safety and security to enable them a fair level of comfort during periods of possible displacement.
“These actions become necessary as we collectively work towards a lasting solution to the annual threats of floods.”
In the bid to mitigate against the effects of the flooding, the NEMA directed the director in charge of rescue operations as well as all the staff on annual leave to immediately resume duty with immediate effect.
He added that all the NEMA zonal, territorial and operation offices have been activated to coordinate resources in their areas of responsibility to respond to the situation, adding that the headquarters staff have also been deployed to support the ZTO, territorial and operational offices of NEMA.
“We have also prepositioned food and non-food relief items which we have already started deploying to affected states. I call on all relevant frontline responders to intensify their preparedness efforts, carry out early warnings targeting the most vulnerable communities, prepare for evacuation to safer ground and provide all other life-saving assistance to persons at risk.
“I also call on the media to support NEMA in the sensitisation of the public to enable them to comply with early warning messages effectively. I implore the media, which has always proved to be a reliable partner of NEMA, to give us all the necessary support including communication in local languages,” Mr Ahmed urged.
In his remarks, the director general of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, Engineer Clement Nze who disclosed that the country was losing over a 200billion cubic meters of fresh water every year, urged state governors to embrace conversation to avoid wastage.
“Let the state governments take action to safeguard their citizens. I know that some governors call to ask what they should do to enhance or reduce the impact of flooding.”