Flood: Relocate now – Nasarawa Govt warns riverine communities
Nasarawa State Government has issued a stern warning to residents of riverine communities to relocate from flood prone areas to avert loss of lives and means of livelihoods in the event of flooding.
Director General, Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, NASEMA, Benjamin Akwash, issued the warning on Wednesday in Lafia.
Akwash said the warning became necessary following the latest flash flood alert issued by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, which is expected to happen in 20 states, including Nasarawa.
DAILY POST recalls that the NiMet warning affected Sokoto, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kaduna, Zamfara, Yobe, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Benue, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross River.
Akwash urged residents to prioritise their safety above the long-held belief in ancestral homes and move to high ground to safeguard their lives and property.
“We are reiterating what we told them during early warning sensitisation to relocate from the flood risk areas. We are specifically appealing to riverine communities to relocate to higher ground.
“We can’t let our people gamble with their lives because we have gone round to sensitise them on early warning and it behoves on them to take it seriously.
“Natural disasters do not give a warning, date, or time. Once again, we call on people to move to the high ground, where they will be safe, and stay alive to continue with their means of livelihoods,” he said.
The NASEMA boss further stated that the agency would soon procure speed boats and canoes, along with other safety kits to help in facilitating the evacuation of people from flood risk areas to safer ground in the event of flooding.
Akwash, while warning residents to desist from dumping refuse in drainage and building on waterways, urged them to take precautions seriously to mitigate the impact of flooding on their lives.
Flood: Relocate now – Nasarawa Govt warns riverine communities
