The Bauchi State Government has initiated strategic measures ahead of the upcoming rainy season to mitigate the devastating effects of flooding......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajara Wanka, disclosed this on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting on sustainable flood disaster management.
Wanka stressed the importance of collaboration, particularly with communities that experienced severe flooding in 2024.
She stated that the meeting, themed “Building Resilience and Collaborative Solutions for Flood-Affected Communities,” was aimed at crafting proactive and preventive strategies rather than reactive responses.
“This town hall meeting represents a key step in our collective journey toward building resilient communities, mitigating risks, enhancing preparedness, and ensuring effective response and recovery in the face of flood disasters,” she said.
She said that Bauchi State, which was the second most affected state in Nigeria after Borno in 2024, witnessed severe flooding that led to loss of lives, destruction of livelihoods, and socio-economic setbacks.
“Flooding is one of the most recurrent and devastating natural disasters affecting our communities and Bauchi State was the second most hit state in Nigeria after Borno in the year 2024.
“Many lives were lost, livelihoods destroyed, and significant challenges were posed to our socio-economic development.
“However, today’s engagement is not just about acknowledging the challenges; it is about forging a path forward. A path that prioritises sustainability, collaboration, and community-driven solutions,” she said.
Also speaking, the Director of Relief and Rehabilitation at the Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Adamu Neyola, revealed that 16 local government areas were affected by the 2024 floods.
He noted that the meeting would help identify unaddressed areas and assess the full extent of the disaster’s impact.
He added that local communities would play a crucial role in developing flood prevention measures, as they are most familiar with the causes and impacts in their areas.
“We are also here to hear the depth, density, and severity of flood disasters that happened in those areas as well as the way forward so that we can mitigate, restore, and at least recover from what we have lost.
“This disaster affects the community people and they are the ones that know what is happening, like the causes and impacts of this flood disaster in their areas.
“Here, they are to bring out their coping capabilities, are they doing things that will prevent them from flooding, and come up with solutions by themselves,” said Neyola.
In his address, the Bauchi State Coordinator of the North-East Development Commission, Ibrahim Bashir, assured stakeholders that the commission remains committed to addressing disasters in the Northeastern region.