By CHARLES IWUOHA

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 on the plight of disaster affected persons has been quite prompt and encouraging; hence we have since received an approval of relief items from the Director-General of NEMA, AVM Mohammadu Mohammed (rtd).

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

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

“Furthermore, we urge the local government authorities at the beginning of every rainy season to alert SEMA and NEMA to embark on massive sensitisation of the affected areas in order to create awareness on the dangers of flood,” he said.

According to him, 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; 46 kegs of 20 litres palm oil; 79 cartons of seasoning and 38 cartons of tin tomatoes.

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

Responding, the Traditional Ruler of Ojjor community, Igwe Emmanuel Umunna, thanked the Federal Government for bringing succour to his subjects affected by the 2020 flood.

“We are grateful to the Federal Government and NEMA that took the pain notwithstanding that we are at the extreme and boundary area of the state to remember and locate us with these relief materials,” Umunna said.

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

“I believe this will go a long way to ameliorate the 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 relief materials, Mrs Angelina Ndibe, prayed to God to bless the Federal Government and NEMA officials for coming to her aid when she lost all her crops to flood.

At Ogurugu Community, the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Emmanuel Egwuaba, appreciated the Federal Government for the succour provided for members of his community affected by the 2020 flood.

One of the victims and beneficiary of the relief materials in Ogurugu community, Mr Joseph Okonkwo, expressed deep appreciation to the Federal Government for the timely gesture of bringing down the relief materials.

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