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Tag: flood

  • FCTA teams up with NOA against polio,flood

    As part of measures to strengthen the war against poliomyelitis, threat of flood and protect the environment, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has declared its intention to collaborate and work closely with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

    The FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello disclosed this while receiving the FCT Director of the National Orientation Agency who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

    Bello who commended the FCT NOA for their support to the FCT Administration, stressed that the administration requires the services of the agency now more than ever before in sensitising the residents, particularly the Abuja office.

    The Minister expressed the Administration’s preparedness to leverage on the very wide network of the NOA in the fight against polio following the warning from experts that FCT is at a high risk of its re-emergence.

    He pointed out that the vulnerability of Abuja became so pronounced because of its position as a major hub for travelers as well as a safe haven for people affected by insurgency and militancy across the country.

    “We will also collaborate with the NOA in other important areas which include a sustained campaign on the protection of the sanctity of lives, especially that of children against harmful traditions, the environment and preservation of the Abuja Master-plan,” the Minister said.

    “As you know more than I do, change and being able to inculcate the spirit of change in individuals and communities is a very difficult task and governance at any level cannot really achieve its full potentials if you do not carry the governed along.”

    Bello added: “Over the last one year or so, we’ve tried to strengthen institutions and the capacities of those that man the institutions so that we truly deliver on our mandates. In trying to do so, the greatest challenges I and my team are faced with is, being able to reorient people to do what is right”.

    He reiterated that Abuja is the only city in the entire federation that is a creation of law, noting that everything done in Abuja is governed by one set of regulations or the other and these regulations are clearly enunciated and enacted to guide and help us run the city.

    Earlier in his address, the NOA Director, Mr. David Manya Dogo, commended the leadership by example style of the Minister, saying, “I dare say you are one of the leaders who is leading by example and we commend you for that.”

    The NOA Director said the agency is very active in the campaign to prevent meningitis and polio, pointing out that they have been working at the level of Area Councils to see that people are adequately sensitized on these very important issues.

    Other areas of the agency’s activities the Director said include working with the INEC on the continuous voters registration exercise to ensure proper mobilization and sensitization of the citizens, particularly the residents of FCT on how they can partake in the exercise.

    He assured the Minister that NOA is working together with the Task Force on the decongestion of the Nyanya-Orozo-Jikwoyi-Karshi road to evolve a strategic communication plan that leverages on dialogue sessions and citizen engagement.

  • Report: 500m people affected by flood yearly

    ABOUT 500 million people are affected by flooding annually, a report by Swiss Re, has shown.

    According to the report, floods are the leading cause of losses in the world of natural hazards as they sweep away lives and homes, affecting a high number of people across many geographies and placing the greatest financial strain on economies when compared to all other types of natural catastrophe.

    It stated that due to climate change, flooding events are increasing in frequency and severity.

    According to the report read: “In many cases, populations are significantly underinsured or uninsured, and the industry is working to fill this protection gap.  Floods are insurable, and Swiss Re has been on the forefront in trying to address this disparity. We are the industry leader in flood modeling and technology, as well as in the structuring, marketing, and handling of floods claims.

    “In 2016, Swiss Re released country-specific flood models for Canada, Italy and Argentina. The reports illustrate the opportunity for our industry to help vulnerable countries boost resilience and prepare for flooding events of the future. Both Canada and Italy claim extensive biodiversity and are vulnerable to a variety of flood-types, including river flooding, floods related to torrential downpours, coastal flooding, and reservoir flooding due to dam failure.

    “Homeowners and business owners face a large flood protection gap, the vast majority of estimated losses in either country would be uninsured in case of an event. With the help of improved modeling, Swiss Re hopes to change this situation. The models for Canada and Italy specifically combine Swiss Re’s proprietary Global Flood Zones technology with an event-set generation method consisting of four modules: a rainfall-runoff model, a routing model, a statistical model, and an event-set generator. Both reports include multiple 200-year flood loss scenarios throughout the different regions of each country.”

     

  • Niger donates to flood victims

    The Niger State government has donated relief materials worth N65 million to 17 flood-ravaged communities in Mokwa and Edati local governments.

    The materials include food and non-food items, such as rice, maize, vegetable oil, maggi, wrappers and roofing materials.

    According to Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) Ibrahim Inga, more than 500 hectares of rice farm and houses were washed away by the flood.

    Inga said the materials were to assist victims resettle and earn a decent living.

    He promised affected communities the government would continue to support victims of disasters.

    Inga urged benefiting communities to complement government’s gesture by promoting peace and unity in their localities.

    District Head of Wuya Kede Alhaji Ibrahim Yawa lauded the government’s intervention in reducing their suffering.

    On September 19, three wards in Mokwa and one in Edati were destroyed by flood.

  • Flood: Residents seek government’s intervention

    Residents of Araromi Odo community, Bariga, have urged the Lagos State Government to save them from health-related diseases and economic strangulation.

    The chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA) Mr. Johnson Adeola said Odukoya, Lateef Fagbemi and Oshin Folarin streets are always submerged by water from the lagoon, forcing the residents to flee their homes.

    He said: “The problem we experience here results from our being very close to the lagoon. The canal here was not properly constructed.

    “It is not wider than a gutter. We have two canals in this area; one is at Onike and the other at Bajulaye. Those were properly done. But the one that is supposed to serve our community is incomparable to the others.

    “The situation has been causing lots of problems to the community. It is not only during the rainy season that our houses are submerged but also during the dry season. The places are always flooded.

    “The flood starts in August till January when it subsides for some months and starts again. The situation has been like that for many decades.”

    The CDA chairman further said the development has led to the spread of waterborne diseases.

    He said: “School children don’t go to school when the situation becomes worse. School proprietors have relocated their schools to other places because of dwindling enrolment.”

    A community leader, Chief Adeyimi Zacchaeus said it was time government took urgent steps to save the people from untimely death.

    “We are calling on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to visit this community and see things for himself. But the situation is that our lives are at risk, our health is challenged and businesses have crumbled,” he said..

  • Flood overruns Anambra again

    Flood overruns Anambra again

    Five communities have been submerged as flood sweeps through Anambra State, hinting of the 2012 disaster, reports  NWANOSIKE ONU

    The flood disaster that ravaged about 17 communities in Anambra State in eight local government areas in 2012 has reared its ugly head again in the state. This time, five communities in Anambra East and West local government areas have been submerged. The affected communities include Eziagulu Otu Aguleri through other coastal areas of Mmiata Anam, Umuoba Abegbu Anam, Iyiora Anam and Umueze Anam.

    Before now, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted that some areas would suffer the same fate of 2012 during this year’s rainy season, warning that residents should take precaution.

    The State Emergency Management Agency, (SEMA) in the state had told The Southeast Report that there was no cause for alarm.

    The director of the agency, Chukwudi Onyejekwe said they had started sensitisation for a long time in the communities, adding that the state was 100 percent ready for the disaster.

    He told The Southeast Report that about 22 speed boats, mattresses, buckets and other items had been provided in readiness for the floods.

    Furthermore, Onyejekwe said all the eight centres used as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state which had been overgrown with weeds, had been cleared by the state government.

    He said, “Our agency is not sleeping, we are on top of our game with the heavy assistance from Anambra State government led by Chief Willie Obiano. For now I can tell you that SEMA is ready.”

    The Nigeria Red Cross Society, Anambra State chapter, on its part, had engaged in advocacy visits, seminars and sensitisation of the rural communities in some local government areas that were mentioned by (NIMET).

    The vice chairman of Red Cross in the state, Prof Peter Emeka Katchy, during one of such seminars in Awka on Tuesday, told The Southeast Report that already 14,000 volunteers of the agency had been deployed to the communities.

    He said the evacuation of the IDPs had already begun in those communities, to their different places created by the state for them in the eight local government areas.

    When the Red Cross visited some of the communities, the residents were already trapped, though it had not reached to the level of 2012.

    According to Katchy, “we have visited the areas to sensitize them the more, we are following the development, some houses and farms had already been submerged in some of the areas”

    “We are moving to evacuate the people to IDP camps immediately, before it reached alarming proportion; the people have been informed on where to go in all the designated camps in the state”

    “We are going to move in this week, but if there is any emergency now, we will move in immediately, Red Cross excel in crisis and that is why we thrive in emergency situations.

    “It is not easy for people to leave their abode and that is why, we are into this advocacy now, Anambra is ready to tackle flood problems in this state because everything is ready. All the camps have been fumigated, water provided, the camps cleared,” Katchy said, adding that every sensible government should support Red Cross to excel in their duty in crisis management.

    Some of the buildings and farmlands had been submerged with the residents lamenting.

    A woman whose farmland had been submerged by the flood, Mrs. Esther Nnoli, told The South East Report that what they suffered in 2012 had come upon them again.

    She said that it had not reached to the level of that of 2012, adding that if the situation became worse, that they would leave their homes in Ayamelum for the camps.

    Last week, the president general of the Association of Anambra State Town Unions (ASATU), Dr. JAP Okolo, had raised the alarm that national emergency management agency (NEMA) and (SEMA) to assist in clearing the water ways of Riverine areas in the communities.

    He said the water hyacinth covered a stretch of some 40 kilometers on the Ezichi, Oda river waterways from Eziagulu Otu through other coastal communities.

    Okolo, complained that the people could not come out because of the inability of boats to move on the weeds which he said had taken over waterways.

     

  • Students go fishing as flood overruns school

    Students go fishing as flood overruns school

    The premises of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Warri, literally became a fish pond, following an early morning downpour that flooded the school. Students plunged into the pool on walkways to catch fish brought by the flood. UGOCHUKWU SOSTHENES (Petroleum Engineering and Geo-science) reports.

    Students of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Warri, Delta State, woke up last Tuesday in a pool. The campus was flooded, following hours of an early morning downpour, which did not stop the ongoing second semester examination. Students were seen wading through the water-logged pathways to their examination halls.

    The heavy rain started at 4am and lasted two hours. Many students were trapped in classrooms where they went to study at night ahead of Mathematics examination to be written the following morning. The two-hour downpour unfortunately resulted in the flooding of their classrooms.

    The school library, which has a well-constructed drainage, was equally flooded. The flood carried  in its rage, a heap of debris to the school gate messing up the entire area. Some areas on the campus could not be accessed owing to the flood.

    The flood, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, might have been caused by the nearby Effurun River, which overflowed its bank. Different live fish were seen swimming in the flood on the campus. The roads leading to the campus stadium and the main Laboratory Complex were unpassable as many feared dangerous reptiles might be in the flood.

    To the students, the fish were manna from heaven. Some, who were not writing examinations that day, waded through the flood to catch fish. None of the students who went “fishing” returned empty handed; they all went back to their hostels with their catch.

    Describing the flooding as unprecedented, a lecturer, who did not want his name in print, said: “Ever since I started teaching in this school, I have not witnessed this magnitude of flood on the campus.”

    Sunday Egon, an ND 1 Science Laboratory Technology student, who went for night reading before the rain, said: “When water started flowing into the classrooms, everybody started packing their books. Then, it became unbearably cold. We were all trapped and could not return to hostels, because the flood covered every pathway. It was difficult to distinguish the drainage from the pathway. We ended up going late for our papers,” he said.

    It took more than 12 hours before the flood receded. A management source blamed the flooding on poor drainage in the town. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that drains in Effurun had been blocked for years, because of poor construction and blockage by waste materials. The source said PTI may continue to experience flooding until a cleanup exercise is carried out to through the drains and canals in the town.

  • Students go fishing as flood overruns school

    Students go fishing as flood overruns school

    The premises of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Warri, literally became a fish pond, following an early morning downpour that flooded the school. Students plunged into the pool on walkways to catch fish brought by the flood. UGOCHUKWU SOSTHENES (Petroleum Engineering and Geo-science) reports.

    Students of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Warri, Delta State, woke up last Tuesday in a pool. The campus was flooded, following hours of an early morning downpour, which did not stop the ongoing second semester examination. Students were seen wading through the water-logged pathways to their examination halls.

    The heavy rain started at 4am and lasted two hours. Many students were trapped in classrooms where they went to study at night ahead of Mathematics examination to be written the following morning. The two-hour downpour unfortunately resulted in the flooding of their classrooms.

    The school library, which has a well-constructed drainage, was equally flooded. The flood carried  in its rage, a heap of debris to the school gate messing up the entire area. Some areas on the campus could not be accessed owing to the flood.

    The flood, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, might have been caused by the nearby Effurun River, which overflowed its bank. Different live fish were seen swimming in the flood on the campus. The roads leading to the campus stadium and the main Laboratory Complex were unpassable as many feared dangerous reptiles might be in the flood.

    To the students, the fish were manna from heaven. Some, who were not writing examinations that day, waded through the flood to catch fish. None of the students who went “fishing” returned empty handed; they all went back to their hostels with their catch.

    Describing the flooding as unprecedented, a lecturer, who did not want his name in print, said: “Ever since I started teaching in this school, I have not witnessed this magnitude of flood on the campus.”

    Sunday Egon, an ND 1 Science Laboratory Technology student, who went for night reading before the rain, said: “When water started flowing into the classrooms, everybody started packing their books. Then, it became unbearably cold. We were all trapped and could not return to hostels, because the flood covered every pathway. It was difficult to distinguish the drainage from the pathway. We ended up going late for our papers,” he said.

    It took more than 12 hours before the flood receded. A management source blamed the flooding on poor drainage in the town. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that drains in Effurun had been blocked for years, because of poor construction and blockage by waste materials. The source said PTI may continue to experience flooding until a cleanup exercise is carried out to through the drains and canals in the town.

  • Man swept away in Osogbo flood

    The lifeless body of a 60-year old man, Elder Ebenezer Olabode, who was swept away by Tuesday evening flood in Osogbo, Osun State capital, on Wednesday floated on the bank of River Okooko in Oke Oniti area of the town.

     

    The victim was said to be returning home when he ran into the flooded street ahead of his residence.

     

    An eyewitness account said that Olabode was adamant to move in the flood despite the advice of people around the scene not to do so.

     

    The eyewitness, Thomas Onaolapo, said that the victim’s body could not be recovered by some Hausa men present at the scene after an intense search that lasted several hours.

     

    He said: “We all warned him to go back but he didn’t listen. After moving for few minutes, the intensity of the flood forced open the booth of his car and the flood caught up with him. Two people standing nearby made attempt to rescue him and one of them nearly got drowned in the process and we all became powerless.”

     

    It was gathered that Olabode’s body has been deposited at the morgue of the State Hospital, Asubiaro.

  • Photos: Weekend rain floods Ondo town

    Photos: Weekend rain floods Ondo town

    Flood takes over roads at Ita Nla area of Ondo West Local Government Area
    Weekend Flood takes over roads in Ita Nla area of Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo town. Photo by Samuel Ekundayo

     

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    Our witness, Samuel Ekundayo, is an Engineer from Ondo State.

  • Flood stops residents from work

    Flood stops residents from work

    Residents of Gafaru Street in Ikotun, a Lagos suburb yesterday shunned their work places to evacuate water from their homes following the heavy rain.

    To them, it has become a norm to boycott offices and stop their wards from going to school whenever it rains, to avoid being washed away.

    The development came as officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency  (LASEMA),  on patrol of flood prone areas, rescued little children from being swept away by flood.

    The residents, who pleaded with the state government to rescue them, lamented that their situation was compounded by indiscriminate disposal of waste by traders at the Ikotun Market.

    Despite visiting the area several hours after the downpour, The Nation observed that some of the compounds were still flooded, especially those situated close to the canal.

    The residents urged Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to inspect the carnal dug three years ago to ameliorate their plight, with a view to correcting the errors that have made flooding to persist there.

    According to a landlord, Isaiah Agbaninu, the government should complete the carnal and also construct their roads.

    He said: “All the dirt from the market and from upland has blocked the carnal. Also, the government did not complete the carnal.  See how our road is. Erosion has washed everything away. Once it rains, people’s homes are flooded and no one can go out.

    “We don’t allow our children go out even if it’s just five minutes rain. We are suffering here and we do not know why the government has refused to come to our aid. But when it is election time, they come here to deceive us and we vote for them massively,” he lamented.

    Another resident, Rosaline Egwuenu, who said she could not go to the market because of the rain, stated that her entire home was flooded.

    She disclosed that a bread seller was also rescued from the flood by other residents, adding that they have resigned to fate.

    When contacted, the General Manager of Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) Michael Akindele, said the flood experienced in the area, as well as some places at Igando, were caused by blocked drainage.

    Akindele said: “At about 1:05pm, the agency received an alert today through the toll free number regarding a flood incident at Akesan Igando involving Zion, Akeem Balogun, Ayeni streets and others.

    “Investigation conducted by the agency’s ERT (Emergency response Team) at the scene of the incident revealed that blocked drainages and canal were responsible for the flooding leading in the entire area and subsequently displacing some of the residents of the affected houses.

    “There was no loss of life, the LASEMA Response Team and neighbours assisted in rescuing some of the trapped victims which include children and an old woman identified as Mrs Bello

    “Residents are advised to avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse leading to blockage of canal and drainages affecting the free flow of water especially during the heavy downpour in the state.”