No fewer than 347 residents have been displaced in Cross River State following mudslides and flash floods that affected several communities in August, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has disclosed.
The Director-General of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, Efa Nyong, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Calabar on Tuesday.
Nyong said 167 people were rendered homeless by a mudslide in Calabar, while another 180 residents were displaced by heavy rainfall in parts of the Central Senatorial District.
According to him, the affected residents are currently taking refuge at various locations in Calabar and communities within the Central Senatorial District.
The SEMA boss, who assumed office on July 14, attributed the disasters to a combination of natural factors and human activities, particularly poor environmental practices.
“Basically, two things are happening. They are happening out of natural occurrence and, secondly, out of human activity. That is all that is happening currently in the state as regards disasters,” he said.
SEMA begins disaster-prevention sensitisationNyong said he had visited communities in the Southern and Central Senatorial Districts to sensitise residents on measures to prevent disasters.
He added that the agency would extend the campaign to the Northern Senatorial District before launching a statewide advocacy programme involving billboards, radio jingles and town criers.
He identified indiscriminate waste disposal as a major factor contributing to flooding, warning residents against dumping refuse indiscriminately.
Nyong explained that the consequences of improper waste disposal could occur several kilometres away from the location where the waste was dumped.
“When people throw waste indiscriminately, it may not show its impact immediately where it is dumped. Its impact could be a couple of kilometres away from where the activity was carried out,” he said.
SEMA warns against fire outbreaksOn fire prevention, the SEMA director-general urged residents to switch off electrical appliances when they are not in use.
He also advised residents to replace faulty cables and bulbs promptly and upgrade electrical wiring where necessary to reduce the risk of fire outbreaks.
Explaining the state’s disaster-response structure, Nyong said the Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC), coordinated by the vice-chairman of each local government area, serves as the first responder during emergencies.
He said incidents beyond the capacity of the local committees are escalated to SEMA, and subsequently to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and international partners where necessary.
“Where we cannot manage it at the level of the state, we push it further to NEMA, when they cannot manage it at that level, we begin to seek international assistance,” Nyong said.
He identified the Nigerian Red Cross Society as one of SEMA’s key partners in providing shelter and other forms of assistance to displaced residents.
Disaster losses difficult to quantifyNyong said it was difficult to place a monetary value on the destruction caused by the disasters because of fluctuations in the value of the naira.
He, however, disclosed that relief materials and financial assistance had been provided by the government and private donors to support victims.He said SEMA was continuing efforts to stabilise the situation and facilitate the resettlement of residents displaced by the mudslides and floods.
