Earth Tremor: NEMA, NGSA Assure Abuja Residents of Safety

By Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Thursday, reassured residents of Panama Street in Maitama District of Abuja not to panic over the earth tremor they experienced at about 12:45pm on November 1.

The agencies in a statement, co-signed by Dr. Abdulrazaq Garba on behalf of NGSA Emergency Response Unit and Mr. Vincent Owan of NEMA, said, “The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) received a call at about 12.45pm 01/11/2018 on a report Earth Tremor from a location in Maitama District.”

According to the statement, “A Technical Team was immediately despatched to the location of the call for an on the spot assessment.

“An internal response protocol was immediately activated, and relevant government agencies and stakeholders were informed. These include the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the FCT. These agencies responded promptly and arrived at the scene, which was reassuring to the residents of the locality.

“Our preliminary findings indicated that the tremor occurred around 12.26pm around the vicinity of Panama Street in Maitama District. After field evaluations, the NGSA determined that the intensity was about 3.0 on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, which means it was felt indoors and lasted less than 1 minute.”

The statement disclosed that further inspections revealed no structural damage. It added that NEMA was adequately briefed by the NGSA. The residents were consequently reassured that there was no cause for panic.

“The NGSA technical team are conducting further assessment exercises and will continue to update the Public on any other development,” it read.