The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) will begin an awareness drive to mitigate the effect of flooding in Gombe ahead of the raining season.

Mr Daniel Wuave, the Coordinator of NESREA in Gombe, who disclosed this on Monday said this would address the unpredictable changes in the climate.

He said that people needed to change their negative attitude towards the environment, because “it could have severe devastating effect on our environment.”

He decried the attitude of Nigerians of dumping wastes in drainages and building houses on water channels, which leads to flooding across the country.

According to him, these acts against the environment have necessitated the awareness drive by NESREA to ensure that the human cause of flooding is addressed to reduce the effects in 2019.

“Our vision is to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for Nigerians in line with the Federal Government’s resolve to ensure that the environment is protected for the sake of all Nigerians.

“In doing that, we have resorted to awareness and sensitisation drive to ensure that the negative attitudes toward the environment is addressed by way of changing their mindset on how they treat the environment.

“The message is simple; don’t dump wastes in drainages, don’t build on water channels and avoid indiscriminate felling of trees. With these, the huge damage caused by flood will be reduced to the barest.

“We are set to take this message to communities, Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) and traditional leaders ahead of the raining season to reduce to the barest the effect of flood in 2019.

“If there must be flooding in the state, let it not be as a result of human activities and if that is the case, the magnitude will reduce,” he said.

Wuave appealed to developers to always incorporate flood mitigation into plans, adding that flood would be reduced when sewage systems were not blocked.

The Gombe State Emergency Management Agency had disclosed that flood killed about eight people and destroyed over 200 houses between May and August, 2018 in the state. (NAN)