The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Saturday, engaged stakeholders and members of Farin Ruwa community in Rikkos, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau on disaster preparedness and early response.
The Director-General (D-G) of the agency, Mrs Zubaida Umar, said at the opening of the meeting in Jos, that the goal was to strengthen community-driven early warning system in the event of flood.
The sensitisation was organised in partnership with the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
Umar said that the meeting was organised to sensitise the stakeholders and residents on proactive measures to mitigate the impact of flood during the 2025 rainy season.
Represented by the Head of Operations, NEMA North Central Office, Mr Adebiyi Razaq, the DG said that this could be achieved through early action and preparedness strategies.
She said that the engagement was to bring stakeholders together to develop measures to checkmate the likely impact of flooding as warned by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
“The sensitisation programme was to inform the state, local government areas and emergency management stakeholders about the 2025 seasonal climate predictions and the annual flood outlook by NIMET and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).
“NEMA had produced vulnerability maps for all communities at risk to serve as tools to guide governments in developing risk reduction measures.
“NEMA had also developed mitigation strategies, which entailed building of local emergency responders, stimulation exercises, rain water harvesting and adherence to predicted rainfall onset for planting.
“Other developed strategies are desilting of drains, integrity tests for critical infrastructure, evacuation plans, community-based information sharing and increased safety and security surveillance,” she said.
The NEMA boss called on traditional institutions, religious organisations, women and youth groups to support the agency in taking early warning messages to the people to prevent danger during the rainy season.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Plateau SEMA, Mr Sunday Abdu commended NEMA for organising the sensitisation programme.
Abdu urged all stakeholders to cascade the knowledge gained to their various groups and communities.
On his part, the community leader of Farin Ruwa, Muhammadu Kalumbo, thanked NEMA and SEMA for the proactive step toward mitigating the impact of flooding in communities.
Kalumbo noted that the sensitisation would go a long way in ensuring that the community does not experience the negative impact of flooding.
NAN
