TheCable

Ola Oresanya, special adviser to the Ogun governor on environment, says the state will deploy flood emergency management teams to LGAs as part of efforts to limit the consequences of flooding.     

Oresanya announced this in a statement issued on Wednesday.

He said the deployment is necessary following the state’s flood prediction captured in the annual flood outlook of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

The flood outlook is an annual publication by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) which issues forecasts on flood, sensitises Nigerians on flood management and mainstreaming disaster reduction efforts for sustainable socio-economic development.

Oresanya said the prediction showed that the state will experience prolonged rainfall that will be accompanied by flash floods, especially in the months of June and July.

He also said coastal flooding may be compounded by the release of water from Oyan dam.

“Following these predictions, there is a need for the general public, especially residents of the state, to prepare for the likely impact of this year’s weather pattern,” he said.

“His excellency, Dr. Dapo Abiodun, has directed that the flood emergency management unit, FEMU, be decentralised into all the local government areas of the state for faster response to emergency calls during the raining season.

“The central response unit is domiciled in the ministry of environment, while the responders in each local government is hereby attached.”

He said the state government has completed some infrastructural projects that would help control the problem of flood in the state.

Some of the projects listed include: construction of culverts and earth drain within Ifeoluwa-Iloye CDA, Sango-Ota; construction of culverts and earth drain within Kajola-Egbejoda CDA in Adigbe Saraki; erosion control project within Government Science and Technical College, Ijebu-Igbo, among others.

He also said the state’s World Bank counterpart financed project are focused on de-silting of rivers and streams across the three senatorial areas of the state, just as he encouraged farmers to take advantage of the weather outlook and plan their planting properly to prevent damage to crops.

He advised residents of the state to apply caution during the rainy season, while persons living in wetlands and flood plains in the state were asked to take precautionary measures.