Flood: 14 council areas in Anambra under threat ―NHSA

THE Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA), says fourteen Local Government Areas in the state are at high risk of flood this year.

Some of the Local Government Areas, it said may be hit hard by the natural disaster include Aguata, Idemili North, Ogbaru, Anambra-East and West, Njikoka, Anaocha, Ayamelum, Dunukofia, Orumba-North and Onitsha-North and South.

The Acting Director-General of the Agency, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Olayinka Ogunwale, disclosed this while presenting a paper on the 2018 Annual Flood Outlook, AFO, at the sensitisation workshop where he called on the state government and NEMA to intensify efforts to mitigate flood outbreak.

The event which was held in Awka, attracted participants from across the country who were drawn from Ministry of Water Resources, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, as well as people from erosion-prone areas in the state and enlightened them on how best to predict, prevent and control flood disaster.

Mr Ogunwale, represented by the Director in charge of Engineering Hydrology in the Agency, Mr. Clement Nze, said that flood disaster is inevitable in the country, hence the need for early preparation to reduce its impact.

He listed overflowing of rivers, high intensity of rainfall, improper urban planning and floodplains, as well as indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the waterways as some of the major factors that contribute to the recurrent flood disaster in the state, and called for an attitudinal change of residents towards the environment.

ALSO READ: Flood takes over Lafia/Akwnga Federal highway, motorist stranded

In a keynote address, the Commissioner for Public Utilities, Mr Obi Nwankwo, represented by the State Director Water Supply, Mr Emmanuel Igwebuike, who described Anambra as one of the states in the federation that is most ravaged by the ecological disaster, disclosed that as part of its efforts towards preventing the recurrence of flood as witnessed in the state last year, the state government through the Ministry of Environment, Beautification and Ecology has embarked on massive desilting of drainages as well as partnering with World Bank in recovering of lands from erosion, and urged Ndi Anambra to avoid practices that would encourage flood outbreak.

Presenting a paper on,”Urban and Coastal Flooding in Anambra state: The Trifecta Effects of Watershed, Geology and Urbanisation”, a resource person Dr. Joseph Amah emphasised the need for people to shun deforestation as it contributes to erosion outbreak.

In their remarks, some of the participants including the Special Assistant to the Governor on Utilities and Water Resources, Mr Titus Aguike, appreciated NHSA for the event and called for replication of such at the grassroots to help the general public on flood mitigation measures.