National Emergency Agency calls for more collaboration in disaster management

The National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, has called for more collaboration from its partners and stakeholders to sustain the existing working relationship at the Federal, State, Local Government and Community levels in the management of disasters.

The Director General National Emergency Management Agency of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, made the call at the presentation of the Disaster Risk Management Implications of the 2022 Seasonal Climate Prediction and Annual Flood Outlook in Abuja.

Mr. Ahmed explained that there has been an increasing global risk of flooding from natural and man-made causes with Nigeria not exempt. He sought for collaborative efforts to tackle the risk.

“It has become imperative for individuals and State Governments to take responsibility for contributing to disaster management issues and not to abandon everything to the government. This is why in NEMA we always say that “disaster management is everybody’s business”.

According to him, “In the year 2012 the country was seriously impacted by a devastating flood that affected many lives, communities and the environment across the 36 States and the FCT. The experience of that year became a significant turn-around in the country’s approach to flood preparations. This has been evidenced in the preventive strategies adopted afterwards that reduced the impacts of the subsequent flooding that occurred”.

He noted that due to the impact caused by disasters in the country, there was a need to restrategise on early warning systems.

“It has become an annual tradition for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to call a technical meeting of experts to review the implications of these important seasonal forecasts to prepare the Disaster Risk Management Implications for various identified aspects for necessary actions. The Disaster Risk Management Implications we are presenting today is a document carefully prepared by technical experts with useful guides on actions required by the various agencies to prepare, mitigate and respond to extreme occurrences this year” he said

The Director-General of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) Professor Bako Matazu reiterated the Agency’s commitment in the dissemination of warning alerts for disaster risk management in areas identified to be at risk of flooding this year.

Also speaking, the Director-General Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Clement Nze, said that efforts must be stepped up by all to manage the flood risk and other related disasters.

“As expected, climate change will continue to increase in the intensity of rains and this will accelerate increase in frequency of flooding events. We must therefore step up our efforts in the management of flooding risks and other related disasters in addition to vigorous sensitization which is what NEMA is doing. We are also pleading with state and local governments to complement this effort through strong advocacy, sensitization campaigns and establishment of flood early warning systems and flood control structures to avert floodwaters from highly probable flood risk zones”.

Within the last four years, the government has approved the distribution of special intervention for farmers affected by the 2018 and 2020 floods. The distribution has been very helpful in re-kindling hopes for the farmers and providing food security.

Emmanuel Ukoh