From Our Correspondent
Gov. Abba Kabir-Yusuf of Kano State says his administration is removing all illegal structures and drainages erected on waterways to allow free flow of water to prevent flood.
Kabir-Yusuf announced this at the unveiling of programme of actions to mitigate against 2023 rainy season disaster in Kano.
Dr Abdullahi Bappa-Bichi, Secretary to the State Government, represented the governor at the event.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) jointly organised the programme.
TheNewsZenith reports that the programme is tagged: “Downscaling of Disaster Early Warning Measures to Grassroots for Effective Life-Saving Early Actions during 2023 Rainy Season”.
The governor said Kano, with over 25 million population, generates more than 4,000 tonnes of waste on a daily basis.
The governor commended NEMA for choosing Kano to launch the Downscaling of Disaster Early Warning Measures at the grassroots level.
“NiMet predicted that 23 local governments across the state which include Ajingi, Dala, Dawakin Kudu, Gezawa, Kabo and Kumbutso are at risk of experiencing flood.
“The state government’s flood response has engaged in evacuating refuse to ensure that Kano State is clean,” Kabir-Yusuf said.
Earlier, Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib-Ahmad, had pledged to strengthen partnerships with SEMA.
This, Habib-Ahmad said, is to enhance effective disaster risk management so as to sustain socio-economic growth in the state.
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“Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) released the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) of the high probability of flooding across the country in 2023.
“The existence of SEMA in all 44 LGAs of Kano will enable them and NEMA collaborate to downscale flood early warning systems to grassroots.
“To safeguard our national food security and engender sustainable socio-economic growth in Kano State in Nigeria,” Habib-Ahmad said.
He said NEMA has taken initiative to alert states, local government and communities that are at risk of flood disaster.
NEMA boss said the initiative would enable them to save lives, livelihoods, critical national assets and the natural ecosystem.
“Flood disasters in Nigeria have become predictable and yet annually recurring with substantial human and material costs.
“We have decided to support sub-national level actors including states, local governments and communities to take ownership of their responsibility of disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.
He recalled that in 2022, Nigeria experienced the most devastating flood disaster, which affected more than four million people.
It also displaced over two million persons and 665 deaths while it destroyed 355,986 houses and 944,989 hectares of farmlands.
“We must, therefore, support our Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) with adequate capacity building, funding and equipment,” Habib-Ahmad said.
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