Flood: NEMA advises Farmers in Anambra State to harvest, relocate
Chinwe Onuigbo, Awka.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has raised alarm over imminent flooding, advising residents, particularly farmers in flood-prone areas in Anambra state, South-east Nigeria, to harvest and relocate to upland areas.
The Co-ordinator of NEMA, Enugu Zonal Office, Thickman Taminu, who gave the advice recently in Awka, the state capital, said the prediction on flooding by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency was still valid and that the danger of flooding was not fully averted in the state.
He said farmers should carry out their harvesting on time to avoid loss of lives and destruction of produce.
“There were two waves of flooding that are experienced annually.
“While the one currently on is the heavy rain-induced category, the one that occurs as a result of overflow of rivers by waters running into the ocean is looming.
“What we experience now is floods that come from rain and disappear almost immediately but the one that comes from overflow of rivers and dams is still coming as predicted by NIMET.
“So, we advise people to consider early harvest and relocation to higher land to minimize losses,” said Taminu.
He, however, said the Federal Government through NEMA had not received invitation from the Anambra State Government to either come and access the situation or intervene in flood-related challenges.
He explained that the State Emergency Management Agency was the lead response agency in the state and NEMA would move in whenever it was invited to come and assess the flood situation.
“There is need for timely appreciation to enable NEMA to take proactive measures that would lead to early intervention,” he noted.
