umuahia: The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged residents of flood-prone communities in Abia to prepare to mitigate the impact of flooding during the year.
The Director-General, Mrs Zubaida Umar, made the call at a programme to sensitise residents to adopt strategies towards reducing the effect of flooding in their communities.
The programme’s theme is: “Downscaling of 2025 Flood Early Warning Strategies to Grassroots Level for Effective and Efficient Early Actions.”
Represented by Walson Brandon, the Director of the South-East Zone, Umar, said that engaging stakeholders on national disaster preparedness and response was one of the agency’s yearly risk management assignments.
Speaking at the event co-organised with the Abia State Emergency Management Agency, the D-G stated that it was important for flood-prone communities to ensure early action before the rains intensified.
She said that the programme was also to educate residents of flood-prone communities in the state about the implications of the 2025 flood forecasts.
Umar further said that the 2025 flood outlook by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) listed eight local government areas in the state as flood-prone.
“So this programme aims to promote early action to save lives and livelihoods during the 2025 rainy season.
“As part of our flood early warning activities, NEMA has identified disaster risk management implications and mitigation strategies for communication to at-risk communities.
“We have also produced vulnerability maps for all communities at risk to serve as guiding tools for governments at all levels to develop risk reduction measures,” she said.
Gov. Alex Otti urged the stakeholders to take the programme seriously, acquire the requisite skills to contain flooding and disseminate the information to the grassroots.
Represented by Mr Philemon Ogbonna, the Commissioner for Environment, Otti commended NEMA for its proactive approach to disaster and emergency management.
“This initiative is in line with our government’s environmental projects in road construction, drainage and erosion control,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Sunday Jackson, the Executive Secretary of the Abia State Emergency Management Agency, said that NIMET and NIHSA listed Abia among 30 flood-prone states in 2025.
Jackson expressed the state government’s commitment towards educating the public on the measures to mitigate the impact of the 2025 flooding.
“The essence of this programme is to build resilience and courage among residents of flood-prone communities in the state.
“No fewer than 67,512 persons were affected by the 2024 flooding across the 17 local government areas of the state; about 27,550 were displaced.
“We are working to stockpile relief materials for communities that may be affected by flooding so that the response can be effective,” he said.
The secretary said that the state government would ensure the early establishment and training of local emergency management committees to achieve effective results.
