By Ikemefuna Asika, Awka
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has in synergy with the World Bank carried out interactive sessions with stakeholders in emergency management in the Anambra State.
The sessions analysed Emergency Preparedness and Responses using the 2022 flood disaster across the state and lessons learnt exercise (LLE) from the 2022 flooding as a focussing event.
The stakeholders were drawn from the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Local Management Committees (LMCs) and Transition Committee Chairmen of the affected Local Government (LGAs).
The Executive Secretary, SEMA, Chief Paul Odenigbo in an opening remark said that the 2022 flood disaster left behind a sad story of loss of lives, destruction of infrastructure and properties worth millions of Naira.
He noted that 2022 flood necessarily began with predictions from Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Nigeria Hydrological Services (NIHSA).
“Anambra was one of the states that experienced intense flooding in 2022 which SEMA as the coordinating body took proactive measures to mitigate the effects by early warning sensitization to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities in flood prone local Government areas of the state.
“We undertook the training of staff and LEMCs, rehabilitations of our Holding Centres to accommodate internally displaced persons and also held coordination meetings with other sister Ministries.”
Odenigbo added that the victims are still struggling to recover from the negative impacts of the flood disaster as public and private infrastructure like schools, health centres, residential buildings, bore holes and bridges were drastically affected even as well hectares of farmlands were completely destroyed.
He commended the Federal Government, NEMA, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and private individuals who provided relief items to the victims to cushion the effect of the disaster.
He recalled “especially the recent Federal Government Special National Economic and Livelihood Emergency Intervention in the state which has resuscitated livelihood and put smiles on the faces of the victims who are in dire need of relief assistance.
” We also ask that the Federal Government to do more.”
A facilitator at the event and a World Bank Consultant, Mr. Nkem Joseph said that disasters are perennial occurrences all over the World and with the challenge of climate change the spate of occurrences are more.
“If you look at the present data chat, you will see that temperature has increased for the past 10 to 15 days, what will happen to rainfall chat will follow suit; frequency of flooding has just been seen.
“That is just a perennial event which in some cases are just small disasters but in some cases it generates to major disaster like what we had in 2022.”
He opined that coming together of the stakeholders to rub minds and discuss the issues of emergency occurrences will help the managers to know what tool of fighting the mayhem can be applied as and when due and how to annalyse them given the difference in environment of the occurrences.
“I teach some of those things in operations management, and I can tell you that consistently whether in government or non government companies, people work in silos and sometimes you do not see the expected synergy which goes ahead to affect the modus operandi of the control.
“One of the things I have identified as a problem for ERC in Nigeria is that of vertical and horizontal coordination.
“How are the states coordinating with DRC; how are the ERC coordinating with the people at the ward levels and how are the states coordinating with NEMA and other bodies like the Federal Government?
He added that at the planning level, a lot of factors are likely to hinder the issue of preparedness in curbing the menace of emergency occurrences.
“We have to look at the issues of resources like facilities and equipment; operational centres like shelters; do we have them enough to do what we are supposed to do within our mandate?”
He said lessons drawn from previous occurrences would help to put the expected contingency in place to tackle future occurrences hence he advised the stakeholders not to handle the issues of emergency with kid gloves so that lives and property will not continue to be destroyed when they can actually be saved.
The Transition Committee Chairman of Anambra East Local Government Area, Dr. Anselm Onuora, on behalf of other Chairmen and the LMCs commended NEMA, SEMA and the representatives of the world Bank for such an educative Interactive session on Emergency Preparedness and Response from 2022 flood disaster.
He said that some of the LGAs were severely effected and noted that SEMA works cordially with the LGAs during the 2022 flooding; he thanked the SEMA Boss for the coordination.
He called on the World Bank for more support in terms of relief assistance and pleaded that dams be constructed in areas it could be needed so as to help mitigate flooding.
