Environment
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The Nigerian Meteorological Agency warns that severe weather conditions in Nigeria is real as it partners with Federal Capital Territory Emergency Agency to provide early warning systems to save life and property in Abuja
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Nov 16, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, and the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, are to collaborate in providing early warning systems to ensure safety of life and property of the FCT residents. Anthony Anuforom, director-general, NIMET, stated this when Abbas Idriss, director-general, FEMA, led a 10-man delegation on a courtesy call to his office.
In his welcome address, Anuforom acknowledged that severe weather situation is real and staring everyone in the face. He noted that since climate change was moving against humanity, the later must also move against its effects. He acknowledged that predicting extreme weather phenomenon is becoming more and more challenging because of the frequency of occurrence of these events.
Anuforom recalled that the post 2015 Millennium Development Goals, MDG, released in September 2015 focused on disaster risk management and further stated that since disaster risk reduction involved taking proactive steps; inter-agency synergy has become an imperative in ensuring that weather information goes through established communication value chains to end users. It is therefore expected that the partnership between NIMET and FEMA will achieve this goal.
On the modalities for collaboration between NIMET and FEMA, Anuforom confirmed the capability of NIMET to establish a weather station for the FCT which would be managed by a resident State Meteorological Inspector, SMI. He identified areas of the proposed collaboration to include, NIMET’s Seasonal Rainfall Prediction, forecast for wind speed and direction which would enable FEMA effectively execute the activities of fire prevention and fire safety in the FCT.
The NIMET will oversee the setting up of a task team that will itemise specific products that NIMET can develop in furtherance of this inter-Agency partnership initiative.
Responding, Idriss commended NIMET for its professionalism in issuing accurate and reliable weather information to stakeholders, noting that the confidence level of Nigerians in NIMET’s forecasts has increased over the years. He also revealed that this collaboration with NIMET would essentially form part of the action plan for disaster risk management activities by FEMA within the Federal Capital Territory.
He outlined the mandate of FEMA to include making FCT disaster free, reducing the vulnerability of FCT residents to disaster, as well as coordinating the activities of other stakeholders in the area of disaster risk management. According to him, FEMA collaborates with NEMA, Police, Military, DSS FRSC, Fire Service, Health Sector (some hospitals). Idriss said that the roles of the Red Cross and Volunteers were clearly defined as to how to perform in the event of an emergency. He added that because of the preponderance of fire-related emergency calls from FCT residents, the response time is five minutes
In August 2015, NIMET signed an MoU with the Institute of Agricultural Research, IAR, Samaru, Zaria and pursuant to the directive from the office of the National Security Adviser, NIMET also constituted and has been coordinating the activities of a tripartite task force for flood monitoring, comprising the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA and the Nigerian Hydrological Agency NIHSA. The Agency has also concluded arrangements for the inauguration of a joint task team, consisting of NIMET and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations, NESREA, to monitor air and environmental pollution.
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