Kano state government says it is responding to a flood-risk warning from the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NIMET, which has identified Kano among areas at risk of flooding this rainy season.
At an interactive session with journalists, Commissioner for Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Dahiru Hashim, said government has taken some preventive measures and still exploring other alternatives, but said residents also have critical roles to play.
For families living in flood-prone communities, heavy rainfall is more than just a weather event.
It can mean losing a home, a business, farmlands, crops and other sources of livelihood in a matter of hours.
Determined to avoid a repeat of such devastation which had previously happened, the Kano State Government says it is taking steps to reduce the impact of possible flooding.
The Commissioner for Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Dahiru Hashim, says a multi-agency assessment of dams across the state has been conducted to ensure their operations do not worsen flooding.
Dahiru says, since assuming office, Governor Abba Yusuf’s administration has also embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of drainage systems as well as flood channels in parts of the state, where poor drainage has repeatedly increased flood risks.
But government says infrastructure alone cannot prevent flooding.
Residents in vulnerable communities have been sensitized on their responsibility to keep drainage channels clear and avoid activities that obstruct free flow of water.
Improper waste disposal remains a major challenge in many parts of Kano, with refuse often dumped around residential areas, businesses and drainage channels.
Through Operation Tsaf-Tsaf, and with the involvement of the Kano State Refuse Management Board, the government has been evacuating waste from public spaces to reduce environmental and public health risks.
The Commissioner says stricter enforcement will be introduced against those who violate environmental and waste-management regulations, warning that indiscriminate dumping can worsen both pollution and flooding.
MUST READ: FLOOD ALERT: Nasarawa Govt Tells Riverine Communities To Relocate
While calling on residents not to panic, the commissioner says, there is ongoing collaboration with the Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Authority and other relevant hydrological agencies in the state to further strengthen efforts to protect communities and prevent a repeat of the severe flooding witnessed in previous years.
(Follow AIT News on WhatsApp, AfricaIndependentTV on YouTube, ait_online on Facebook and X (Formerly Twitter), and officialait on TikTok, Instagram and Threads)
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
