NEMA launches document to curb flooding

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

The National Agency Management Agency(NEMA), has launched a document on Disaster Risk Management to help in combating flooding in Nigeria.
Director General NEMA, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja, made the disclosure at a one -day national workshop on Flood Risk Mitigation, Preparedness and Response held yesterday in Abuja.
Maihaja who declared the workshop opened, stated that “the document will serve as an Early Warning for 2019, has been put together in a simplified manner to remind stakeholders of their roles in disaster risk reduction, mitigation, preparedness and response.
He said “NEMA as a coordinating Agency with support from relevant stakeholders, analyzed the Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) yearly to determine their disaster implications”.
According to him “our collective responsibility in serving the people, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),need to always come together with the view to directing plan of actions towards safeguarding and protecting our citizens, infrastructure and other elements that are vulnerable to climate and weather extremes in the environment.
The DG maintained that “the impact of hydrological hazards on lives, properties and environment depends on the level of preparedness which to a large extent relies on efficient early warning systems which in turn drives all processes that constitute our early action mechanisms.
Meanwhile, presenting his paper on ‘Proper Dam Management Against Flood Hazard’, Director General,National Water Resources Institute(NWRI),Prof. Emmanuel Adanu stressed the need for proper dam management for flood control .
He explained that,the most effective method of flood control was to introduced better flood warning systems, to tackle climate flood levels and restore rivers to their natural courses and trained courses among others.
Prof. Adanu further pointed that, the total volume of water renewable was 374billion cubic meters, out of this 280billion cubic meters are groundwater while over the years it has reduced to 42billion cubic meters and 88billion cubic meters from the up streams countries.