Disaster may Worsen in Kano, Says NEMA

By Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has raised an alarm that the flood disaster that ravaged communities in Kano State may worsen, as there is anticipation of overflow of rivers, dams and streams in the state.

The Head of Operations of NEMA, Kano Operations Office, Nura Abdullahi, said over the weekend at a one day Disaster Management Stakeholders’ meeting held at Quarter House Hotel, Kano that the situation had made many communities to be vulnerable to flood disaster.

“The flood experienced in the past weeks with its attendant reports of destruction of farmlands and buildings was a clear confirmation of the 2018 seasonal rainfall prediction (SRP) as released by NIMET.

“More worrisome is the anticipation overflow of rivers, dams and streams in which many communities seem to be at risk by being vulnerable to flood disaster,” he said.

He therefore called for a synergy among all stakeholders to share experiences on how to adopt measures in respect of strengthening effectiveness on disaster management collaboration and coordination towards the preparedness, mitigation and response strategies.

“As such, all hands must be on deck for all stakeholders to share experiences on how to adopt measures in respect of strengthening effectiveness of disaster management collaboration and coordination towards preparedness, mitigation and response strategies,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the resolutions at the end of the meeting, NEMA called for the reactivation of Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in Kano and called on the stakeholders to be ready to ensure effective response before, during and after emergencies.

“There is also the need for NEMA and SEMA to organize periodic sensitization programme that would involve all stakeholders.

“There is a need for a technical sub-committee comprising of security agencies. There is also the need for effective communication platform, especially WhatsApp for all stakeholders,” said the resolutions.

In addition, the meeting also called for the enforcement of disaster management laws as well as compliance with the warning to reduce the rate at which lives are being lost during disasters.