The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has summoned dam managers and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) coordinators to review 2012 floods that ravaged many communities in the country and see how they can tackle predictions by NIMET of above average rainfall in the northern states.

Speaking with Daily Trust in Kaduna, North-west zonal coordinator of NEMA, Musa Ilellah, said the meeting was to prepare and mitigate the pending disaster.

“Last year’s flood is the worse in the history of Nigeria, and with the 2013 predictions, more measures have to be taken. We call on SEMA’s executive secretaries in the seven states to map out  plans so that we can see where we can come in. We don’t want what happened last year to repeat itself,” Ilellah said.

He added, “NIMET has predicted that Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina States and environs are likely to experience rainfall above that of last year, while in Kano, Kaduna Katsina, Jigawa and Zamfara States, there is likelihood of flash floods resulting from high intensity rainfall at the onset and during the cessation periods. So, we must all contribute our quota towards making our communities more habitable, safer and free from threats to lives, property and the environments”.