SAN FRANCISCO, September 17, (THEWILL) – The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Maihaja, has declared flooding a national disaster in four states including Kogi, Niger, Delta and Anambra, placing eight others on the watch list.
The agency made the declaration on Monday following a permission from President Muhammadu Buhari granting the agency to declare the situation a national disaster if the flooding was catastrophic as envisaged.
Following the order, Maihaja had earlier inaugurated five Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) to facilitate prompt search and rescue operations as well as humanitarian support in the 12 states worst affected by flooding.
The Centres will be responsible for planning, organising, directing and supervising deployment of resources with the affected state governments and local authorities and communities in order to expedite intervention to save lives and facilitate quick recovery.
At the command centre in Abuja, the NEMA DG and other chief executives will be responsible for the formulation of policy and operational guidelines for the conduct of emergency operations in all the worst affected states.
THEWILL recalls that the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) had earlier warned that the steady rise in water levels and weather forecast in the coming weeks have put Nigeria at risk of witnessing a recurrence of the catastrophic flooding similar to what it witnessed in 2012.
In 2012, catastrophic flooding had affected up to 30 states in the country and resulted in the deaths of over 300 people and displaced more than two million people, according to data from NEMA.
NIHSA, therefore, believes the country is at risk of a recurrence of the disaster if proper steps are not taken.
