By Ikemefuna Asika, Awka
Anambra State Government has made adequate preparations towards ensuring that flood disaster is contained if it eventually occurs this year as predicted.
The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Chief Paul
Odenigbo said this in a message to the training for the Local Emergency Management Committee
and some Health workers in all the ten flood-prone Local Government Areas
of the State held at the Anambra East LGA Headquarters, Otuocha.
Represented by an Admin Officer in the Agency, Mrs. Rita Omega, Odenigbo stated that the training was part of preparations following the predictions made by
all the relevant government agencies that there will be flooding in about
thirty-two states of the country including Anambra.
Chief Odenigbo who noted that the Agency had carried out sensitization in all the
riverine areas, urged the people to be prepared to relocate to higher grounds
whenever they are called to do so as adequate arrangements had been made to provide Camps for them.
The Representative of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Enugu Zone,
Mr. Kennedy Eke urged the Local Emergency Management Committee and other
relevant stakeholders in the various riverine areas to be at alert and ensure
that they notify the state and federal agencies whenever they get notifications of increase in water level.
In a remark, the Transition Committee Chairman, of Anambra East LGA, Dr. Anselem Onuora said they are making adequate arrangements to ensure that
lapses observed during the last year’s flood incident are corrected especially
in the area of hygiene and medical care of victims in the camps.
According to him, the local government had concluded plans to engage volunteer health
workers who will assist in the provision of services especially to nursing
mothers and pregnant women as well as children and aged persons.
The Assistant Field Coordinator, International Organization for Migration, Anambra state, Mr. Hezekiah Samuel said the essence of the training was to equip participants with the relevant knowledge they need to be able to act as first responders during flood outbreaks in their localities.
He noted that community engagements and participation in the clearing of blocked
drainage channels as well as sensitization will no doubt go a long way in mitigating the envisaged disaster.
Another resource person and First Aid Instructor from the Nigerian Red Cross Society,
Mr. Diken Frances called on the participants to note that the objective of first responders is to save lives, prevent situations from getting worse andpromote quick recovery of victims. A consultant and expert in flood mitigation, Mr. Chukwudi Onyejekwe enumerated seven activities that first responders must consider whenever there is an emergency.
They include considering the situation very well, what is the correct thing to be done, creating a rallying point ,considering a safe route, identifying affected persons and review of actions already taken for safety.
The Coordinator, Local Emergency Management Committee, Anambra State, Mr. Nnamdi Esimai commended the administration of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo for the training which he said would go a long way to empower them to attend responsively to flood disasters and other emergencies in the state.
Highpoint of the event was a demonstration of the First Responder’s Action in evacuating flood victims at
the training which was presented by a team from the Nigeria Red Cross Society.
