Strategies are being mapped out by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to contain natural disaster, especially flooding.
People in the South South and riverine South East are still reeling from the impact of the 2012 flood which rendered thousands homeless, devastated residential buildings and farmlands, and chased out aquatic and biotic animals from their natural habitats.
Flooding in Isoko, Delta State.
This has led to famine and heightened refugee problem in the rural parts of the regions.
NEMA South South Coordinator, Onimode Bandele, disclosed in Port Harcourt that the agency has braced up for effective control and management of natural disasters with the cooperation of State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), community stakeholders, and public and private organisations.
But he expressed concern over the non establishment of legally backed SEMAs in Cross River, Rivers, and Edo.
He said NEMA Director General, Muhammad Sidi, has presented a paper to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) calling on states to create legally backed SEMAs and has toured those that are compliant.
Bandele commended Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Delta States whose agencies he said have legal frame work for their SEMAs for commitment and infrastructural development.
Based on the prediction of the Nigeria Meteorological Institute (NIMET) on rainfall this year, he disclosed, NEMA brought stakeholders together to study the disaster management implications of the prediction, in order to streamline activities and build synergy among stakeholders.
Bandele has toured areas affected by flooding and his office has delivered relief materials in Fuga, Edo State where roofs were blown off buildings by cyclonic windstorm, and has been to Delta State twice to deliver relief materials to people displaced by oil spillage.
He expressed concern over the ocean surge in Southern Ijaw Council, but gave an assurance that NEMA is coping with it.
NEMA makes use of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members as emergency management vanguards, visiting orientation camps to educate them on the roles of the agency, and recruiting them after training.
”Apart from this, we are partnering with private bodies,” Bandele added.
He appealed for security consciousness and promised that NEMA would complement the efforts at the various levels of government, as well as efforts by boat owners, divers, and community leaders.
For effective co-operation between NEMA and SEMAs, he advocated the formation of Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC) headed by a council chairman for immediate access to rural communities.
He reiterated that NEMA is a federal outfit that handles emergency situations, risk reduction and management, but said involvement in disaster management starts from areas of impact as NEMA is only a coordinating agency.
To reduce damage during ocean surge and flooding, Bandele advocated that local residents knowledgeable in seasonal water levels should be the first to alert agencies on imminent danger for early engagement.