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Over 100 persons displaced, damage costs unquantifiable
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The Director General of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Efa Nyong, has blamed the rising cases of disasters in the state on human activity and negligence, dismissing claims that they are supernatural.
Cross River has suffered landslides, flooding, and a number of fire outbreaks within the last ten weeks.
The disasters raised concern in some of the affected communities, who attributed the environmental challenges to gods and other supernatural beings.
Speaking in Calabar, the SEMA DG said floods, fire outbreaks and other emergencies recorded in the state since he assumed office were largely self-inflicted through poor environmental practices and disregard for safety measures.
“For water, you see how people act. You will see that people throw debris into drainages. Its impact might be a couple of kilometres away from where you had done the activity.
“For fire, your bulbs are showing you signals that they should be replaced, or the wires should be changed, and you neglect all of that. It will always ignite some sort of disaster,” he said.
The DG disclosed that SEMA has intensified awareness campaigns across the three senatorial districts to prepare residents ahead of disasters.
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He said the agency has covered the Southern and Central districts and was set to move to the Northern district before a general flag-off involving billboards, radio adverts, and community roadshows with “guitar choirs”.
“We are creating awareness so that we prepare better against all these forms of disaster,” he stated.
SEMA, in collaboration with the Red Cross, has also embarked on community clean-up exercises in Calabar South, Anantigha, Biase and Agwagune to clear drainages and reduce flood risk.
Nyong said 157 persons from 63 households have been displaced in the southern part of the state due to flooding, while about 180 persons were affected in the central district, including the flood-prone Agwagune community in Biase LGA.
To cushion the impact, the state government, in partnership with the Red Cross and private donors, has provided shelter at the SEMA office and Red Cross facility in Calabar, as well as relief materials and financial support to victims.
On the cost of damage, the DG said it was unquantifiable and urged residents to take responsibility for disaster prevention, stressing that government intervention alone cannot solve problems caused by human actions.
