Avoid Driving Through Flood Water, FEMA Cautions FCT Residents

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has warned residents against going through flood water to prevent avoidable death. Mrs Florence Wenegieme, Director, Forecasting Response and Mitigation, FEMA, gave the warning on Sunday in Abuja. Wenegieme, while reacting to the demise of a 31-year-old motorcyclist from flooding in Abuja on Friday, appealed to residents to listen to FEMA’s warnings to save their lives from untimely and preventable death. The deceased, identified as Yakubu Lucky, after a heavy downpour on Friday, defied warnings from the local divers stationed at Dogon Gada in Lokogoma District of the FCT by FEMA, and drove into a pool of water and drowned. She said that the sad incident was avoidable; stressing that FEMA barricaded the road to stop people from going in and out of the community whenever the road was flooded. “We have our local divers and vanguards stationed there to stop people. “We have also mounted billboards at that particular location and other vulnerable areas, warning residents not to drive or walk in running water. “But people pay deaf ears to our warnings; resulting in preventable deaths. “In Lucky’s case, because he was on a motorcycle and assumed he knew the road very well; he navigated through the barricade and into the pool of flooding water, leading to his untimely death.” The director said that FEMA had been carrying out massive sensitisation campaigns throughout the year to enlighten residents on how to stay safe during flooding and other emergencies. She expressed concern that despite several awareness campaigns in communities, some residents still ignored FEMA’s warnings against going through flood water. “We will continue to sensitise residents against any action that will risk their lives during disaster or any kind of emergency. “But while we do our part; we are appealing to the residents to cooperate with us; heed to our advice and warnings to keep them safe. “Our trained local divers, volunteers, vanguards and emergency marshalls are in every community to ensure time response to emergency situations. “They are also in the communities to advise and caution residents during emergencies. “Please listen to them and do what they asked you to do to keep everyone safe,” she said. 

Palestinian War: Israel Seeks $10bn Emergency Relief From US

Israel has asked the United States for $10 billion in emergency aid amid the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the New York Times newspaper reported. The White House is reportedly preparing an assistance package for Israel, which also contains aid to Ukraine, funding to reinforce the U.S.-Mexico border, and aid to Taiwan, the newspaper said late on Monday night. On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was considering Israel’s requests for additional military aid to conduct its operation in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that U.S. President Joe Biden during his visit to Israel scheduled for Oct. 18 would get an update from Israeli officials about their strategy against Hamas in Gaza, including the pace of their military operations. Last week, a United States official told Sputnik that Washington had not made a decision on whether it would tie in assistance for Ukraine and Taiwan in a supplemental funding request it was preparing to submit to Congress seeking additional aid for Israel. U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the U.S. military would need additional support from Congress to be able to provide security assistance to Ukraine and Israel simultaneously. On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip. The conflict has left thousands of people dead and injured on both sides.

Flood: NEMA Distributes Relief Materials To 8,757 Households In Kaduna

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the weekend, commenced the distribution of relief materials to 8,757 households affected by the 2022 flood disaster in Kaduna State. The Director-General of the agency, Mr Mustapha Ahmed, said during the distribution in Kaduna, that the gesture was under the Special National Economic and Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI). Ahmed, who was represented by Ms Ngozi Echeazu, State Team supervisor, SNELEI, said that the distribution was aimed at bringing succour to the affected households in the state. He identified the items as food and non-food items, such as rice, beans, sorghum, blankets, mats, mosquito nets and detergents. Other non-food items include sewing machines, grinding machines, water pumps for dry-season farmers, sprayers, fertilizers, herbicides and seedlings. He explained that the agricultural inputs were given to take farmers back to the farms, stimulate crop production and safeguard national food security in the middle of economic downturn. The DG added that the livelihood support was to help artisans to improve their businesses and grow the economy. He called on the beneficiaries to avoid selling the items and destroy the good intention of the Federal Government. In her remarks, the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, commended the Federal Government for the gesture. Balarabe, who was represented by Mr James Kanyip, Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov. Uba Sani, Office of the Deputy Governor, said that the items would assist the beneficiaries in rebuilding their lives. She also advised the beneficiaries against selling the items, which she said was to alleviate poverty and empower them economically. The deputy governor also called on the distributors of the relief materials to ensure that only the targeted persons and the vulnerable were given the items. Also, Mr Usman Mazabu, Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, thanked the Federal Government for approving the relief assistance to the victims. Muazu assured that the relief materials would be transparently and jointly distributed to the affected persons by officials of NEMA, SEMA and representatives of the community and other relevant stakeholders.