By Nwankpa Chijioke, Port Harcourt

National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, has declared that 30 states are virtually at a high risk curve of the flooded area this year.

Making the declaration at the quarterly briefing with Journalists Against Disaster JAD, yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Head of Operations, NEMA Operations office, Port Harcourt, covering both Rivers and Bayelsa states, Mr Eric Ebhodaghe, stated that such was the predictions of the Nigerian Metrological Institute NIMET, and conceded, thst Rivers State is part of them.

“It’s not a new occurrence to us, because the states of Rivers and Bayelsa are along the coastal line, and are usually flooded, when it comes to wet season as this.”

On their level of preparedness, Ebhodaghe explained. “As an agency, working to reduce the impact of flooding on the people, we sensitize and work to ensure less economic damages, and maitain safety of lives.

“We have always had a wholistic programme, when it comes to disaster management, and again flooding in particular. We usually analyse the prediction itself and do downscaling.

“At that point we activate the early warning at all levels, at the high level and down to the community level, especially the Communities, that are at the risk of being flooded, during this 2025 floodings in the rainy season”, NEMA Head of Operations noted.

He affirmed that aware of the predicted high flooding, NEMA board and management have started interfacing with the leadership of governments, from the federal, state and Local Government Area LGA levels.

“In Rivers State, we have identified communities within the LGAs, at high risk of being flooded this season, and are going to these communities for early warning awareness, sensitization and prevention and mitigational measures, to ensure, they do not suffer much loss, during the rainy season.

We warn them of intending flooding, as a natural incident, though it can’t be stopped, but it can be managed. One of the ways the people can help manage it, is by relocating to safe grounds in the communities/IDP camps. In loss of property, we help to mitigate the impact of such losses”, he noted.

The NEMA boss disclosed that, they have warned them earlier, to relocate their movable assets, likely to be impacted by the floods.

“We urge them to move such assets to safe grounds, reminding them, government cannot take them to their first former level, hence early application of the preventive measures.

We talk to the communities via their Community Development Commttees, youth leaders, royal fathers and chiefs within those communities. We have had interface with them’, NEMA assured.

“We are also interfacing with the government, often hold series of meetings with the State Emergency Management Agency SEMAs, usually overseen by the Ministry of Special Duties.

He also recognized the communities are responsive, confide in them of some of their challenges, even as he emphasized synergy with other critical stakeholders, as the military, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, Fire Service station, Ambulance Service, EMS, Red Cross Society of Nigeria among others.

He observed 15 LGAs have so far been identified as vulnerable to the floods, even as they have set up 15 Internally Displaced Persons’ IDP camps there.

On the agency’s advice to the people, the Head of Operations urged. “We must improve our capacity to prevent floods, and must also improve our capacity in area of mitigation.

All preventive measures, need be put in place, to ensure that the flood itself does not have so much negative impact on us .”We need to apply good waste management system.

When waterways are blocked, it certainly will look for it’s way. If we ensure that waterways -gutters are properly dissilted, there ll be reduction in the volume of water that goes outside. If we imbibe the culture of good waste management system, we ll succeed in flood mitigation efforts.