Benue State Emergency Management Agency, BSEMA, has commenced plans to evacuate likely victims of the impending flood that might hit the state, following the red alert from the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, on the release of excess water from Lagdo Dam by the Cameroonian authorities.
The agency also directed the general public, especially those living on river banks and flood-prone areas, to vacate immediately to safer grounds.
The acting Executive Secretary of the agency, James Iorpuu, sounded the warning in Makurdi during a tour with members on the state’s Emergency Flood Committee which has as members the Commissioners from Line Ministries, Heads of Agencies and Departments as well as humanitarian partners, to assess facilities in some designated places within Makurdi where anticipated victims of the impending flood would be accommodated.
The Executive Secretary stated that the agency was working closely with the Emergency Flood Committee as directed by Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia “to find a suitable and safer place for those that would be affected by the impending flood. I can assure you that facilities in the designated places would be provided within the shortest possible time before the evacuation process would commence.”
Also, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Matthew Abo, assured of the readiness of his Ministry to embark on massive awareness and sensitization campaigns on measures that would ensure the safety of the people living in riverine communities across Benue State while his counterpart in the Ministry of Health and Human Resources, Dr. Ortese Yanmar said his Ministry would work closely with BSEMA and partners to ensure that all the necessary health services were provided to the affected persons.
