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By Gabriel Enogholase

National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in Edo State has alerted residents of the state of imminent flood and urged residents to clear drainages to reduce its impact, especially in flood-prone areas.

Head, NEMA Edo Operations office, Mr. Dahiru Yusuf, gave the warning in Benin at a workshop on 2022 Flood Preparedness, Mitigation and Response organised for stakeholders in Disaster Management.

Yusuf said the call became necessary following the 2022 seasonal climate prediction that forecasted that there would be high rainfall across the country.

“Drainages, culverts and all waterways should be cleared for water to flow freely without affecting buildings and also reduced the impact of flood, especially in the urban centres.

“The 2022 seasonal climate prediction length of the growing season in the state is predicted to be above normal.

“This prediction is already playing in Edo as reported by the representatives of the frontline local governments where there has been an increase in the volume of water leading to some communities being cut off”, he stated

According to him, the increase in water levels would lead to flooding of houses, structures, and farmlands in communities situated along the river banks, stressing that the predicted rainfall for Etsako East, Etsako Central and Esan South-East local government areas would be slightly high and likely to experience floods along the banks of the River Niger.

While advising living in riverine communities to start moving to higher grounds, Yusuf called on farmers in the affected areas to be guided by the predictions to avoid loss of lives, resources and livelihoods.

He assured that “NEMA would continue to sensitise the people on the risks associated with flooding.”