River Flooding: NEMA Constitutes Emergency Operation Centres For Search, Rescue Operations

By CLEMENT NWOJI, Abuja

Few hours after the activation of the National Emergency Contingency Plan (NECP), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has inaugurated Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) to facilitate prompt search and rescue operations as well as humanitarian supports in the twelve (12) states worst affected by flooding.

This is even as the Federal Government has approved N3 billion for first response operations at the affected areas.

The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Maihaja, who inaugurated five EOCs, had on Saturday, disclosed that following statistics of disaster caused by river flooding received from Niger, Delta, Kogi and Anambra out of 12 States identified, coupled with the forecast by NiHSA and NIMET of continuous rainfall and River flooding in the next three weeks, there was urgent need to activate the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC).

He further said that the NEMA situation room had been activated for collection of data, dissemination of information and monitoring of the flooding to ensure coordination of rescue operations and offering of assistance to the victims.

The five Emergency Operation Centres with eight personnel each includes; EOC “A” is to cover Niger and Kwara states; EOC “B” is to cover Kogi and Edo states; EOC “C” is to cover Benue, Taraba and Adamawa states; EOC “D” is to cover Anamabra and Delta states while EOC “E” will cover Rivers and Bayelsa states.

The Emergency Response Centres will be responsible for planning, organizing, directing and supervising deployment of resources with the affected state governments and local authorities and communities. The primary objective is to localize the responses and expedite intervention to save lives and facilitate quick recovery.

At command centre in Abuja, the Director General of NEMA and other chief executives will be responsible for formulation of policy and operational guidelines for the conduct of emergency operation in all the worst affected states.

The centres operations are to commence immediately while expecting them to utilize the facilities and personnel of the agency’s zonal and operation offices and other critical stakeholders, according to a statement by the NEMA Head, Media and Public Relations, Sani Datti, on Sunday.