[size=18pt]Nigeria fails to heed flood early warning messages[/size]

guardian.co.uk, Fri 16 Sep 2011 12.07 BST


Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency accuses state governments of ignoring its early warning messages in the wake of flooding across the country

[img]http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Reu//b/2011%5C246%5C7e146f09-fa0f-4180-ac73-f8891e23a63a@news.ap.org.jpg[/img]


Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency (Nema) has accused state governments of overlooking early warning messages in the wake of flooding across the country that has killed around 140 people and displaced tens of thousands.

In early 2011 the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Nimet) predicted heavy rainfall. Based on this, Nema sent out early warning messages via radio in May to governments and citizens in seven states, including Kano in the north. "We advertised … for both government and people to start cleaning up drainage ditches, and we formally wrote to state governments, including Kano state, to prepare for the expected flooding this year," said Nema co-ordinator Musatafa Suleiman.

The Nigerian Red Cross also put out early warnings based on information it received from Africa's climate prediction centre, African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development.

But, according to Suleiman, "few states adhered to the early warning messages and started clearing their drainage systems or canals for easy passage of floodwater".

Nema is trying to improve its information-gathering and dissemination so it can play a stronger early warning role in future.
But local authorities need to shift from a reactive to a proactive role to fund and map out clearer emergency preparedness plans from now on, said Umar Maigari, disaster management co-ordinator for the Nigerian Red Cross in Bauchi state in northern Nigeria.

Several states have no emergency preparedness measures at all, and those that do, are poorly funded. Heavy flooding in August in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Jigawa states displaced tens of thousands.


Top preparedness priorities are to clear drainage ditches and move communities in flood-plains to new locations, according to Nema. Particularly at risk in most states are densely populated, low-income areas of cities, where refuse dumping and inappropriate construction of roads and buildings have blocked drains, said Charles Oji, a town planner in Warri (a major city in Delta state).

Abiola Ajimobi, the governor of Oyo state in the south-west, gave a seven-day demolition notice on 1 September to houseowners living on drainage paths in the capital, Ibadan. Residents said they were not given enough notice of the move.
It is not too late to strategise preparedness activities for the 2012 rainy season, said Nema's Suleiman.

Very little progress has been made in these areas since 2010, when heavy rains hit the north, displacing 2 million people after local authorities were forced to open floodgates on swollen rivers.

The head of Nimet, Anthony Anuforom, anticipates that parts of Bauchi, Oyo and Cross Rivers states may experience more flooding in the next few weeks.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/sep/16/nigeria-ignored-flood-warnings?cat=global-development&type=article

Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink. - S.T Coleridge

Pure water dey sha. . Too much flooding

State governors who ignore such warnings or fail to put emergency measures in place are negligent and should be tried, on leaving office, for indirect genocide. All these so-called leaders need to sit up or what are they doing there?

So, what else did NEMA do when ignored? What happened to existing escalation channels?