The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned states in the South-South region to prepare adequately for severe windstorms as predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) to avoid casualties.

The agency issued the warning in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday by the NEMA South-South zonal Information Officer, Mr Roberts Ekemini.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that NIMET’s 2012 rainfall prediction shows that the 2012 rains in the South-South region are likely to be characterised by heavy windstorms.

The Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, said the essence of the NIMET prediction was to prepare the states and their citizens for the natural disaster, the statement said.

Sani-Sidi said that NEMA, in its bid to reach out to the grassroots, had carried out a flood sensitisation programme in communities in the region.

He maintained that NEMA would continue to ensure that the effects of disasters were adequately cushioned in the country, even as he explained that man-induced disasters could be prevented or even stopped while natural disasters could not be stopped.

He called for the setting up of Local Government Emergency Management Committees (LMCs) for proper management of disasters in local communities. This, he said would go a long way in creating early warning systems and reduce response time during emergencies. (NAN)