In a swift response to the ongoing flooding in Kogi State, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has deployed an emergency response team to support rescue and evacuation efforts in affected communities.
The team includes specialists in search and rescue, offering technical assistance to the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and other key stakeholders.
NEMA Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, announced that mobile water purification equipment has also been dispatched to provide clean water to impacted families.
The move follows recent alerts issued to flood-prone states, urging them to prepare for potential disasters.
Frontline states identified at risk include Kogi, Adamawa, Taraba, and several others along the Niger and Benue rivers.
Part of the statement read: “With the activation and deployment, NEMA offices nationwide and technical officers will work with the relevant State Ministries, Departments and Agencies to establish Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) for coordination and activation of local actors for the emergency response.
“These will include advocacy to communities at risk, evacuation planning, identification of safe high ground for temporary shelters and prepositioning of equipment for evacuation and rescue.
“Sector leads have also been alerted to provide priority needs to the impacted persons in the event of displacement of persons into Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and other safer locations.
“Furthermore, NEMA is coordinating with the Military Disaster Response Units (DRU), Nigeria Police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) to deploy their Disaster Response personnel, Police Marine and Disaster Management Units operatives respectively where necessary and the Nigerian Red Cross Society to also activate its volunteers.”
