Imo Governor Uzodimma Inaugurates Flood Emergency Committees

Imo Governor Uzodimma inaugurates flood emergency committees. The LEMCs is made up of a five-member committee from each of the 27 LGAs.

Governor Hope Uzodimma on Thursday inaugurated a 135-member Local Emergency Management Committees to enhance flood disaster preparedness and response in Imo.

The LEMCs is made up of a five-member committee from each of the 27 LGAs.
Declaring open a two-day training workshop for them in Owerri, Mr Uzodimma restated his administration’s continued commitment to emergency disaster management in Imo.

Mr Uzodimma, who was represented by the secretary to the state government, Cosmas Iwu said the structure had been there at the state level.

“What we are doing today is to replicate them at the local government levels where disasters usually occur. We don’t have to wait for disasters to occur before taking action as the committees will prevent disaster by monitoring environmental indices for necessary proactive measures,” he said.

In a speech, the South-East zonal director of NEMA, Wilson Brandon, lauded Imo for being the first state in  the South-East and South-South to establish LEMC.

Mr Brandon explained that the NEMA Establishment Act stipulated the establishment of the LEMC across the country. He underscored the importance of the committees, urging stakeholders to leverage on their existence to mitigate disasters at the local government levels.

Uzodimma

The chairman of Oru West LGA, Ikenna Adikibe, commended Uzodimma for his visionary leadership and consistent commitment to the safety and well-being of Imo residents.

Mr Adikibe said the inauguration and training of LEMCs demonstrated Uzodimma’s proactive governance, “one that places human lives, community resilience and disaster preparedness at the centre of development”.

He assured the governor of the local government chairmen’s support towards achieving the goals of the programme.

“The training will undoubtedly equip them with knowledge, tools and strategies, required for effective disaster prevention, mitigation and response,” he added.

WMO: Floods, Storms To Worsen As Global Heating Continues

WMO: Floods, storms to worsen as global heating continues. The UN World Meteorological Organisation says there is no end in sight for floods and storms as global warming continues.

The UN World Meteorological Organisation says there is no end in sight for floods and storms as global warming continues.

According to it, the world’s water resources face growing pressure from climate change while emergencies involving the life-giving resource are increasingly impacting lives and livelihoods.

“Water-related hazards continue to cause major devastation this year,” Celeste Saulo, WMO secretary-general said on Thursday. “The latest examples are the devastating monsoon flooding in Pakistan, floods in South Sudan and the deadly flash floods in the Indonesian island of Bali. Unfortunately, we see no end to this trend.”

Mr Saulo added, “2024 was the third straight year with widespread glacial loss across all regions. Glaciers lost 450 gigatonnes, this is the equivalent of a huge block of ice seven kilometres in height, seven kilometres wide and seven kilometres deep. Or 180 million Olympic swimming pools, enough to add about 1.2 millimetres to global sea level, increasing the risk of floods for hundreds of millions of people on the coasts.”

The report also highlighted the critical need for improved data-sharing on streamflow, groundwater, soil moisture and water quality, which remain heavily under-monitored.

Mr Saulo noted that the emergencies had  been happening amid increasingly warm air temperatures, which allowed more water to be held in the atmosphere leading to heavier rainfall.

Her comments coincided with the publication of a new WMO report on the state of the world’s waterways, snow and ice. The report notes that 2024 was the hottest in 175 years of observation, with the annual mean surface temperature reaching 1.55 °C above the pre-industrial baseline from 1850 to 1900.

Against this backdrop in September 2024, central and eastern Europe experienced devastating flash-floods caused by deadly Storm Boris which uprooted tens of thousands of people.
Similar disasters are likely to happen more often, even though they should, in theory, be extremely rare.

United Nations

In the Czech Republic, several rivers flooded in an extreme fashion “that actually statistically should only occur every 100 years,” Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO director of Hydrology, Water and Cryosphere Division said.

He added, “A ‘century event’ happened, unfortunately, statistics show that these extreme events might become even more frequent.”
The WMO report findings confirmed wetter-than-normal conditions over central-western Africa, Lake Victoria in Africa, Kazakhstan and southern Russia, central Europe, Pakistan and northern India, southern Iran and north-eastern China in 2024.

One of the key messages of the UN agency report was that what happened to the water cycle in one part of the world had a direct bearing on another.

Melting glaciers continue to be a major concern for meteorologists because of the speed at which they are disappearing and their existential threat to communities downstream and in coastal areas.

2025: Kaduna Emergency Agency Reviews Weather Alerts To Boost Flood Readiness

2025: Kaduna emergency agency reviews weather alerts to boost flood readiness. Mr Mazadu said, “The weekly briefing is an essential part of our 2025 emergency plan.’’

The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA) on Wednesday convened the Strategic Flood Response Team to strengthen coordination after torrential rains displaced 545 households in Kaduna North Local Government Area.

Executive Secretary of the agency, Usman Mazadu, said that the government’s immediate priority was to ensure the displaced families received emergency shelter and relief assistance without delay.

He explained that the meeting was aimed at reviewing updated weather forecasts and advisories released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) to guide practical response strategies.

According to him, the session was designed to ensure responders worked with current data, enabling emergency committees and units to deliver faster, coordinated and more effective interventions in flood-affected areas.

Mr Mazadu said, “The weekly briefing is an essential part of our 2025 emergency plan, ensuring stakeholders work together to protect citizens’ lives, property and communities threatened by flooding.”

Kaduna Emergency Agency Reviews Weather Alerts

He stressed that the initiative demonstrated government’s commitment to preparedness, adding that early warning systems, community sensitisation and timely deployment of resources would significantly reduce risks faced by flood-prone households.

Mr Mazadu further assured that relief materials were already being mobilised for the 545 displaced households, stating that ongoing assessments would guarantee timely support, restore hope and help victims rebuild their lives.