NEMA wants South-East residents to leave flood prone areas

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has appealed to South-East residents to relocate from low land and flood prone areas to forestall the loss of lives and property.

The NEMA South-East Coordinator, Mr Fred Anusim, made the appeal in Enugu.

Anusim noted that residents and local authorities in the zone should take the National Hydrological Agency warning of more rains and flooding seriously.

He said emergency management was everybody’s responsibility and as such everybody and government should do work to ensure that flood and erosion devastation were checked.

“From the flood impact assessment done in the past two weeks in over a dozen communities and farm settlements in the zone, the agency noticed that flooding and erosion menace due to more rain and saturation of ground water were on the increase.

“However, in the assessment so far, we have not recorded any loss of life. And we want the record to remain like that this season by the grace of God.

“NEMA is appealing to the people living in the various flood prone communities and settlements, which we have visited and enlightened, to do the needful and relocate to avoid losses in any form,’’ he said.

The NEMA zonal boss said that the Agency had been in constant touch with state governments in the zone through their various State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs).

“We want state and local governments to assist us to ensure that our people living in low land and flood plain or prone areas relocate to their relatives and friends` homes or make-shift holding camps created by the government temporarily,“ he said.