Disasters Management: National Emergency Management Agency seeks collaboration
Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja.
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, Mr 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.
Ahmed explained that there has been an increasing global risk of flooding from natural and man-made causes, with Nigeria not being isolated from this risk, which needs collaborative efforts to tackle.
“It has become imperative for individuals and State Governments to take responsibility for contributing to disaster management issues within them and not to abandon everything to the government.
“This is why in NEMA we always say that disaster management is everybody’s business.
“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 Federal Capital Territory.
“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,” said Ahmed.
He noted that due to the impact caused by disasters in the country, there was a need to restrategize 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 added.
The Director-General, while commending partners such as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency for providing the information used in the preparation of the Seasonal Climate Prediction And Annual Flood Outlook document, also commended the Press for always being there to report the Agency accurately.
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.
