D-G Climate Change council alerts Benue residents on pending flood
By Bridget Tikyaa
PSA Media Publicity and Communication Strategy to Benue State Governor
Dr Daniel Mailumo ,The Director General (D-G) Benue State Council on Climate Change has urged residents in makurdi to take decisive steps on ways to mitigate impending floods in the state ,saying, taking anticipatory action can save lives and livelihoods.
In a flood awareness and sensitization campaign in makurdi metropolis on Wednesday, he told residents that as climate change increased flood risk, community anticipatory actions was the best way in helping vulnerable communities prepare in advance.
The DG said the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency and NEMA had sent early warnings,timely, actionable alerts to states, announcing that Benue was among the states to be flooded during the rainy seasons.
According to him there is no excuse for waiting for disaster to strike and forcing vulnerable communities to make up for lost time.
Mailumo advised residents living at the river banks to move to safer places or those provided by the government.
He said in Benue, some of the LGA to be affected where Makurdi,,Aliade, Otukpo,Logo,Katsina- Ala,Buruku,Tarkaa, Apa and Agatu etc.
In Makurdi, the flood awareness was carried out in areas emmarked for flood which included: Wadata ,Walomayo, Achusa, Nyiman, Genabe,Logo I and II ,Gyado Villa Wurukum and Parts of North Bank.
The DG noted that the sensitization campaign in makurdi will be repricated in all the listed flood prone LGAs
In her remarks, Mrs Erdoo Mnogol- Aga DG Benue Geo Mining Company during the campaign advised residents, especially women and youth to take decisive steps to mitigate flood as they were the worse hit of the disasters.
She said they could take preventive measures of clearing up water ways,gutters, culverts and bushes as those were major hindrances to water flows.
The Flood awareness and sensitization campaign was organized by the Benue State Council on Climate change in conjunction with Climate change NGOs.
The focus was to inform people about the flood alert from NEMA which includes Benue as one of the states likely to be affected by flood this year. People were therefore advised to take measures including relocating to safer areas.
This campaign was supported by the NGOs including Gilead Initiative for Sustainable Development (GISD),
Angel Support Foundation (ASF),
Gender and Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative (GERI), Center for Family Empowerment (CFE) and Salvador and Keren Development Initiative (SAKDi).
Others are Go-Green Environmental Health Sustainability Initiative, Cheerful Hands Initiative (CHI), Environment and Climate Change Amelioration Initiative (ECCAI),
Nkafamiya Rescue Mission (NRM), Remem Humanitarian Organization and Good Health Living Environmental Foundation (GOHLEF).
