The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday commenced preparations to prevent loss of lives and livelihoods from flooding in Benue State.
The Acting Zonal Director, North Central, of NEMA, Sulieman Mohammed, stated this in Makurdi during a simulation exercise designed to test the ability of communities and emergency agencies to respond quickly to disasters.
He said the exercise, code-named ‘Uwar Uma’, meaning ‘Saving Lives’ in Tiv, was aimed at strengthening the state’s capacity to respond to riverine and urban flooding.
Mohammed, who spoke at the training and orientation programme organised ahead of the full-scale flood disaster response simulation exercise, stressed the importance of the event, given Benue’s exposure to flooding due to its extensive river systems, floodplains and seasonal rainfall, particularly around the River Benue and its tributaries.
He maintained that flood preparedness must go beyond early-warning messages to ensure that communities were able to act promptly through evacuation, rescue, relief and recovery measures.
‘Every weakness identified during this exercise provides an opportunity to strengthen our preparedness before a real flood emergency occurs,’ he said.
The NEMA zonal director stressed the need to prioritise the safety of personnel, volunteers and members of the public during the exercise, adding that lessons learnt would be reviewed after the field simulation to improve future disaster response.