The Director, Institute of Geosciences and SpaceTechnology Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) Port Harcourt, Professor ThankGod Abam, says the lack of preparedness on the part of the government was responsible for the level of destructions witnessed during the 2012 flood incident, Prof. Abam, who said this at a flood sensitization workshop organized by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in conjunction with the Ministry of Special Duties in Port Harcourt, said that the country was not prepared for the 2012 flood disaster.
The director who spoke on the topic: “Flood Impact Mitigation in the Niger Delta”, said that this lack of preparations was responsible for the negative impact of the incident on the affected areas.
He said that the situation must however serve as a lesson to both the government and people to always be alert as well as put in place adequate measures towards containing future occurrences of natural disasters in the country.
According to him, there must be flood intelligence, gauge stations to monitor water level as well as a programme for prevention of future occurrence of natural disasters in the country.
“Communities must be prepared and be on alert. Agencies of government charged with responsibilities must be up and doing,” he said.
The university don, who described flood as the most significant aspect of climate change, added that flood mitigation strategies must cover all strata as far as flood control is concerned.
Prof. Abam stressed the need for reliable information and an integrated water management measure for the Niger Delta region as well as early warning and flood forecasting for the region.
He thanked the Natural Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for the workshops and stressed the need for it to be sustained.