Anambra Set To Lessen Flooding In Coastal Communities

The Anambra State Government is stepping up efforts to develop flood-resilient communities in the State’s coastal districts and to adopt environmental preservation strategies.

A two-day workshop on flood resilient solutions organized by the state Physical Planning Board in conjunction with a private firm was followed by a field visit to select coastal communities in Anambra East and West Local Government Areas.

The field visit became imperative for a better appreciation of the subject matter of the workshop which explored methodologies to pair indigenous knowledge with innovative solutions that ensure environmental preservation of traditional architecture towards building flood resilient communities in flood-prone areas of the state.

The communities visited included Umueze Anam, Mmiata Anam Nzam, and Umueri and the visit served as the beginning of the implementation of the resolutions from the workshop.

Chike Maduekwe, Chairman, Anambra State Physical Planning Board, explained during the visit that it was to fashion out ways to mitigate flooding in coastal communities in the state to avoid flood disasters.

Maduekwe said that Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s Administration is deliberate about building a wholesome liveable and prosperous state which is why it is already collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop a flood-resilient plan for the state.

Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Umueri, Igwe Ben Emeka stressed that anything that affects Anambra West, affects the East, especially Umueri people on the river bank.

This is because the same river Omambala divides them, just as the Traditional ruler of Nzam, Igwe John Ogugua recalled that their fore-fathers saw and survived high-level flooding which stopped with the construction of Kainji Dam, until the recent climate change, suggesting that the government should help by building resilient structures across the coastal communities.