By Ifeanyi Uwagwu
In keeping with its promise to safeguard the lives and properties of Deltans as impending flood looms on the horizon, the Delta State Government through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has entered into a collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders. A one-day workshop, held on Thursday, at Prof. Chike Edozien Secretariat, Asaba, was aimed at sensitising citizens on proper waste management and flood preparedness, as part of the collaborative efforts.
The workshop included participants from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Delta State Waste Management Board, Nigerian Red Cross, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), local government councils, especially high risk areas and emergency volunteers from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Declaring the workshop open, the Co-chair of the 2024 Flood Disaster Management Committee and Commissioner Bureau for Special Duties, Hon. Ejiro Etacherure expressed his happiness over the meeting as it was in tandem with the proactive disposition of the state government, under the leadership of Elder Francis Oborevwori in tackling the issue of perennial flooding in the state. “I wish to commend the efforts of the organisers of this workshop to deliberate on issues concerning the 2024 flood prediction by NIMET and Annual Flood Outbreak (AFO) by the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA), to complement the efforts of the state government which has graciously set up the state Flood Disaster Management Committee to work closely with other relevant agencies to mitigate the effects of the impending flood on Deltans”, he said.
While highlighting the state’s preparations, including setting up camps in flood-prone areas and ensuring relief materials and medical supplies are ready to cater for those who would be displaced from their ancestral lands and homes by the flood, Etacherure urged local government chairmen to promote proper waste disposal practices to help mitigate flooding, stressing that improper waste disposal is a significant contributor to the problem. Head of Operations at NEMA Edo Operations Office, Dahiru Yusuf, emphasized the workshop’s aim to raise awareness about the connection between waste management and flooding. He called for community resilience through proper waste disposal and adherence to flood measures.
The Director of SEMA, Karo Ovemeso appealed to the Federal Government to focus on clearing waterways and constructing dams to manage excess water, which would help prevent flooding and support year-round irrigation, boosting food security.
“We are also calling on the Federal Government to concentrate efforts on ensuring that waterways and water channels are cleared, while also calling for the building of dams to collect excess water and for onshore embankments to be built along coastal lines. When more dams are built, excess water that is released and occasionally accompanied by torrential rainfall in some other areas, the dams would act as a buffer to collect the excess water, which would prove to be beneficial for the country, especially in irrigation for round the year planting, thereby boosting food security in the country”, he said.
Ovemeso identified Oshimili South, Ndokwa East, Ughelli South, Warri South-West, Warri South, Burutu, and Isoko South as high-risk local government areas, while Aniocha South, Patani, Oshimili North, Warri North, Ndokwa West, Sapele, Aniocha North, Ughelli North, Udu, Ethiope West, Okpe, Bomadi, Uvwie, and Isoko North were categorized as moderate risk areas.
