Samuel Ortom of Benue reently urged stakeholders in the environment sector to begin effective disaster management and risk reduction strategies in the state.
“I am sincerely encouraged by the purposefulness and commitment of participating agencies and groups in ensuring emergency preparedness response; we appreciate all the stakeholders involved in disaster management service delivery.
“As we are all aware, in the distant past, incidences of conflicts, flood and other forms of disasters are few and far between but today, it has become so real and so recurrent; no thanks to climate change.
“Others are insurgencies, urban sprawl and the pressure it has brought to bear on available public utilities.
“Disasters are serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society; apparently, disaster involves widespread of human, psycho-social, material, economic or environmental impacts which exceed the ability of the affected community to cope, using its own resources.
“However, given the theoretical and practical interweaving of disaster with hazards, emergency, safety and risk, a general interpretation of disaster must include all social, psychological and physical aspects of disasters, not leaving out the antecedents of such disasters,’’ he said.
“For development activities to be sustainable; there must be disaster risk reduction. On the other hand, unsound development policies will increase disaster risks and disaster losses.
“Thus, disaster risk reduction involves every part of society, government, professionals and private sector such that the development of emergency preparedness and response as well as disaster risk reduction and management plan for the state is timely and commendable.
“Modern world, in spite of its civilisation and increase in knowledge, has not been able to provide adequate answers to disasters; we are overwhelmed by incidents of flood, fire, droughts, insurgency and epidemics.
“The best solutions before us have been to establish preparedness for combating, containment and degradation of their capacities to wreak havoc or establish appropriate mechanisms to reduce their occurrence to the barest minimum.
“This, to us, is what effective disaster and risk management is all about,’’ he added.
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