From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
The Gombe State Government has set up a task force to mitigate the effects of floods and other impending environmental challenges the state is predicted to face as this year’s rainy season reaches its peak.
According to Ismaila Uba Misilli the Director-General (DG) of Press Affairs Government House Gombe in a statement, the task force was in response to the 2023 reports of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA).
The agencies had warned that some northern states, including parts of Gombe state, may experience heavy rainfall together with thunderstorms and high winds in the coming months.
In the case of Gombe, NiMET and NHSA reports identified Nafada, Yamaltu Deba, and Balanga Local Government Areas (LGAs) to have a higher risk of flooding.
Misilli explained that in a swift reaction to the report, the state governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya directed the state Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources to work with all relevant stakeholders and activate state emergency response and management resources towards ensuring the safety of lives and property of the people while mitigating the effects of the impending weather events and their life-threatening consequences.
He said, “Acting on the Governor’s directive, the Ministry had constituted a task force to engage all relevant stakeholders such as the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Gombe State Environmental Sanitation and Protection Agency (GOSEPA), Ministries of Works, Health and Education, as well as non-governmental organizations for regular consultative meetings to come up with ways of mitigating the impact of the incidents in case they occur.
“The Ministry has also engaged in aggressive advocacy exercise and community sensitization campaign on the new weather alert in all the envisaged flood-prone areas within the state on how people will take self-precautionary and mitigating measures,” the DG Press stated.
He added the Ministry of Environment has also embarked on desilting of drainages and water channels, and also desilting of at least a 2km radius in all the other ten local government headquarters in the state to prevent flash floods and allow for proper drainage of runoffs especially in densely populated areas.
He said, “The crisis response unit of the Ministry is put on alert for constant monitoring of weather patterns and other environmental changes for prompt and timely response to any environmental issue that may pose a threat to the safety of lives and properties. It has also mapped out some shelter zones to serve as a haven to displaced persons during emergencies in all the local government areas, and provided these centers with needed amenities and services”.
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