The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has released its 2022 Disaster Risk Management Implications Report (DRM) to guide effective and timely management of flood and associated hazards in the country.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Mustapha Ahmed, while presenting the document on Friday in Abuja, said the report would support NEMA’s partners to disseminate early warning messages to the public.
He said that the document was the outcome of the detailed analysis of the Seasonal Climate Prediction and Annual Flood Outlook earlier released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) respectively.
According to Ahmed, it is important for Nigerians to adopt preventive strategies to avert flooding, as the country is not isolated from its natural and man-made risks.
“Let me also add that it has become imperative for individuals and state governments to take responsibilities toward contributing to disaster management issues within them and not to abandon everything to the government.
“That is why in NEMA we always say that disaster management is everybody’s business.
“The disaster risk management implications we are presenting today is a document carefully prepared by some technical experts.
“With useful guides on actions required by the various agencies to prepare, mitigate and respond to extreme occurrences this year,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director-General, NIHSA, Mr Clement Nze said the objective of early warning messages was to sensitise the nation on the need to embark on preventive measures against flooding.
Nze said it was important to increase enlightenment and sensitisation campaigns for better preparedness on flood mitigation and management, especially in flood risk zones.
On his part, the Director-General of NiMet, Prof. Mansur Matazu, called on relevant stakeholders and policy makers to heed the early warnings as indicated in the document.
The 2022 Annual Flood Outlook released by NIHSA, shows that 233 local government areas in 32 states and the FCT, fall within the highly probable flood risk areas.
NIMET, in its 2022 Seasonal Climate Prediction, predicted a ‘normal to above normal’ rainfall pattern in the country.
