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National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday said it recorded over 60 incident of disasters from January till date in the South South geo-political zone of the country.
NEMA’s South-South Zonal Coordinator, Brandon Ibarakumo, made the disclosure at a one-day retreat organised for the agency’s staff in Yenagoa.
Ibarakumo explained that the retreat entitled: “Re-engineering the Agency for Effective and Proactive Disaster Management,’’ was to chart a way forward in the discharge of duties. The coordinator listed some of the disasters in the region as flooding, building collapse, fire and tanker explosion, among others.
“Disasters are, indeed, becoming an issue of concern worldwide. The impacts on the society are on the increase and are a major obstacle to achieving sustainable socio-economic development.
“We have some records of the incident: pipeline vandalism, 12 incidents; fire and tanker explosion, more than 20 incidents; flooding, 30 cases of urban flooding due to none adherence to the city plans,’’ he said.
Ibarakumo, however, called for more collaboration among communities, stakeholders and individuals for effective and proactive disaster management, especially in the coastal towns. He reiterated the agency’s commitment to awareness campaigns across communities in the zone and urged the staff to be more dedicated in the course of discharging their duties.
