14th August, 2013
JETHRO IBILEKE/Asaba
Three hundred and sixty three people died in last year’s flood which ravaged many states across Nigeria, occasioned by the overflowing of the Niger and Benue rivers.
Besides, about seven million people were affected in one way or the other by the flood, out of which about 2.3 million were displaced and 597,476 houses were submerged by water.
Material losses were valued at $16.9 billion.
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi gave the statistics Tuesday in Asaba, Delta state at a flood awareness campaign towards early warning and early action for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the South-South geo-political zone.
Alhaji Sidi who was represented by the South-South Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Emenike Umesi, maintained that the casualty figures for the 2012 flooding were no fiction but real, adding that if steps were not taken, the figure could be higher this year.
“The total value loss across all sectors of economic activity was estimated at $7.3 billion while combined value of the damages and losses was $16.9 billion. However, the sad twist to all these was the direct impact it had on the people as a total of 363 deaths were recorded, seven million were affected out of which 2.3 million were displaced and 597,476 houses were submerged,” he stated.
He said the 2012 flood disaster marked a water-shed in the nation’s disaster management apparatus as “it tested our contingency plans at every front,” adding that the experience offered the country the opportunity to address the difficulties and long-standing development issues.
“The calamity brought all stakeholders together as never before to address the consequences of flood, plan to reduce the vulnerability of our people and increase their resilience. It is in continuation of this multi-sectorial collaboration that this flood awareness campaign towards early warning and early action for NGOs, CBOs and MDAs in the South-South zone has been organised,” he noted.
To help mitigate the effect of flood in the country, the NEMA boss urged all state governors to take the early warnings seriously and strengthen their respective emergency management agencies by providing funding and other logistics for state emergency management agencies in order to mitigate the effect of the predicted disaster.
His warning is coming on the heels of prediction of greater flooding this year by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
He harped on the need for state governments to empower NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and MDAs to enable them withstand the stress that might come with the expected flooding this year.