Residents of flood-prone parts of Anambra State have been warned to be cautious of the imminent flood disaster predicted to happen between August and October this year.
The Anambra State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Barrister Charles Nwoji, gave the warning on Wednesday, while addressing a meeting of the Association of Past Presidents General of Anambra State (APPAS) in Awka.
Since January this year, flooding has been reported in Lagos, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia States and the Federal Capital Territory, affecting 508,721 people.
The destructive floods have displaced 73,379 people, 115 casualties, and injured 277 people.
The floods and heavy rain have left around 37, 633 houses destroyed or severely damaged, according to latest data made available to the Presidency from the relevant Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA), as shared by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu.
According to Nworji, the sensitization event is part of the activities of the Agency in engaging Stakeholders on the urgent need for effective response to the current flood disaster in the country.
“The Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Institute, Professor Mansur Bako Matazu had on 15th of August, during a training workshop organized for the State Directors of the Agency drawn from the thirty-six States of the Federation including Abuja on Semi Security Management at Abuja disclosed to us that the prediction is real.
“The current flash flood in the country has resulted to tragic loss of lives, livestock, collapsed houses, displaced residents and washed away farmlands across the country.
“I want to appeal to the Association to use their influence as major Stakeholders in the State to educate the people on the dangers of blocking the water channels with refuse in the State,” he said.
Nworji enjoined residents of the State to join efforts with the Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo in his environmental campaign, especially in the area of proper refuse management.
He expressed support for the immediate demolition of any building erected on water drainage, calling on the people to cultivate the habit of desilting the drainages around their home for their healthy living.
The NOA boss, who spoke among other things, also appealed to the Association to assist the Agency in propagating the good news to the grassroots, especially to those living in the coastal areas across the State.
Receiving the NOA Director and his team to the meeting, the National President, Association of Past Presidents General in Anambra State, Chief Omeife Omeife, described the event as very apt, recalling how he lost one of his relatives to flood last five years.
He pledged the unwavering support of the Association to NOA, with a view to taking the message of the program down to the grassroots for effective awareness creation.
