NEMA distributes relief materials to flood victimsin Enugu

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Sunday, distributed relief materials worth millions of naira to communities affected by the 2020 flood within Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The relief materials, which included food and non-food items, were distributed to three agrarian communities of Ojjor,Ogurugu and Igga.

Speaking at Ojjor community, Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Fred Anusim, said that the flood incidence that destroyed massive farmlands and buildings in the communities occurred on Oct. 3, 2020.

Anusim said that the notice of the incidence was brought to the attention of NEMA through the Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), traditional rulers and other media reports.

According to him, NEMA carried out an assessment of the incidence, which revealed that several buildings and farmlands were affected leading to displacement of residents and dislocation of means of livelihood.

“The responsiveness of the Federal Government onthe plight of disaster affected persons has been quite prompt and encouraging;hence we have since received an approval of relief items from theDirector-General of NEMA, AVM Mohammadu Mohammed (rtd).

“Please note that the relief materials brought toyou today is not to replace what you lost during the flood disaster but tocushion the effect of the unfortunate incident.

“We suggest that the affected persons should lookout for early warning signs at the on-set of rain in order to avert the loss oflives and property because flood in the area has become a perennial event.

“Furthermore, we urge the local governmentauthorities at the beginning of every rainy season to alert SEMA and NEMA toembark on massive sensitisation of the affected areas in order to createawareness on the dangers of flood.

“The food items in the relief materials included:456 bags of 12.5kg rice; 456 bags of 25kg beans; 456 bags of 12.5kg garri; 46kegs of 20 litres palm oil; 79 cartons of seasoning and 38 cartons of tintomatoes.

“The non-food items are: 912 pieces of blankets;912 pieces of foam mattresses; 59 cartons of bath soap; 456 pieces of waxprint; 624 bags of cement; 624 bundles of roofing sheets; 69 bags of 3 inchesnails; 208 packets of zinc nails; 624 pieces of ceiling boards and 700 piecesof children’s wear,’’ he said.

Responding, the Traditional Ruler of Ojjorcommunity, Igwe Emmanuel Umunna, thanked the Federal Government for bringingsuccour to his subjects affected by the 2020 flood.

“We are grateful to the Federal Government and NEMAthat took the pain notwithstanding that we are at the extreme and boundary areaof the state to remember and locate us with these relief materials,’’ Umunnasaid.

One of the victims of the flood, Mr Fidel Okiji,thanked the Federal Government for the relief materials as well as its timelydelivery.

“I believe this will go a long way to amelioratethe hardship my family had been going through since the flood incident,’’Okiji, who is a beneficiary of the relief materials, said.

Another victim and beneficiary of the reliefmaterials, Mrs Angelina Ndibe, prayed to God to bless the Federal Governmentand NEMA officials for coming to her aid when she lost all her crops to flood.

At Ogurugu Community, the Traditional Ruler of thecommunity, Igwe Emmanuel Egwuaba, appreciated the Federal Government for thesuccour provided for members of his community affected by the 2020 flood.

One of the victims and beneficiary of the reliefmaterials in Ogurugu community, Mr Joseph Okonkwo, expressed deep appreciationto the Federal Government for the timely gesture of bringing down the reliefmaterials. END