NEMA warns Adamawa, Taraba riverbank communities on flooding

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has advised people living along the banks of River Niger and River Benue in Adamawa and Taraba States to relocate to avert flooding.

NEMA’s Head of Operations in the two states, Mr Abbani Garki, gave the warning while distributing items to the 2018 flood victims in Yola South Local Government Area of the state.

Garki said the agency had received the 2019 rainfall data analysis from the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET), which indicated that 30 states of the federation would experience flooding.

According to him, NEMA, alongside other agencies in the states, is monitoring and working closely in case of emergency.

“We are advising communities, especially those along the two major rivers in Benue and Niger, to be on alert because there is possibility of flooding this year as predicted by NiMET.

“State governments should also advise their communities to make sure that all drainage channels are regularly cleared and refuse dumps evacuated,” he said.

He said that no fewer than 3,000 victims of the 2018 flooding in Adamawa had been assisted with livelihood items by the Federal Government from January till date.

Garki said the intervention items distributed included food and non-food items such as building materials, consumables, sewing and grinding machines and water pump facilities.

He advised the beneficiaries to use the items for the purpose for which they were meant.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Aisha Jidda, from Modire Ward in Yola South Local Government Area of the state, thanked the government for its gesture.

She promised that the items would be used for the purpose for which they were supplied.