The Government of Anambra State has disclosed its readiness to tackle prospective flood related emergencies. It declared that it has taken precautionary measures across the state to avert any disaster.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Environment, Dr Felix Odimegwu, during an interview with journalists in Awka, on Saturday.
He stated that the environmental are ready and in collaboration with relevant agencies, has sensitized the people to the likelihood of flood flowing this year’s rainfall.
This is coming after a heavy downpour caused severe flooding around Zik’s Avenue, Iweka Road, near the popular Ochanja Market in Onitsha, last Monday, ravaging some shops and disrupting business activities.
The flood intensified risk of blocked drainage channels as the entire stretch of Zik’s Avenue was submerged.
Also, NiMET had in the early hours of Saturday, forecasted three days rainfall from Saturday to Monday in listed stated including Anambra and Odimegwu has stated that the campaign was in response to early warnings.
He said, “After the first six months seasonal prediction by NiMet, we disseminated the information and notified residents, especially those living at the coastal areas about the upcoming rainfall and flooding consequences, and urged the general public to be absolutely careful and prepared for it.
“The state government has consistently sensitises the people to desist from blocking water channels and drainages in and around surroundings of their houses to pave way for easy flow of flooding. The blockage of water drainages is the root cause of man-made flooding.
“What we are doing is that whatever would cause flooding in the urban areas by man, we will try to prevent it. But, if it is the flooding caused by river rising above the sea level, we will give warning to people living in the riverine areas to prepare on how to vacate.”
He also stated that the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has constituted committees headed by the Deputy Governor, Dr Onyekachi Ibezim, including officials of ministry of health, e
Environment, Education LG chairmen and SEMA, to fight flood and related disasters in the state.
“The reason for constituting the committees is for us to start in time to strategise and put measures in place ahead of this year’s flooding in case it occurs. The Committees were formed since 2022 when flood devastated about nine local government areas of the state.
“After that 2022 flood devastation, we vowed that such disaster cannot occur again, but if it eventually happens, the effects will not be as severe as it was in 2022 because of the measures we have put in place.
“Now, rains have started, every week I send notice of early warnings to some other stakeholders who are in the standing Committees which local government chairmen are also among them because they have their own local emergency management committees who manage the crisis if it occurs.
“The early warning signs have become important because it will alert to how and when it will rain heavily and provides avenue for them to prepare and be careful whether the rain will cause flooding or not.
“We will continue posting the early warning signs until we reach the peak of rain season. During this period, we will now embark on manual preventive measure ‘Called Marking’. There is an object that has different coloured edges which we buried in the ground that shows the level of rising water from the sea.
“From the object, when water level reaches the green edge, it indicates that there is no problem, but if it rises from green to yellow edge, it indicates that people should be vigilant and by then, we will tell people to start packing to where we arranged for them. If the water level rises to red edge, then there is great danger. Red edge is a situation where flood begins to carry people and destroy properties,” he added.
