Flooding has occurred in 150 communities across Cross River State and destroying property worth millions of naira.
Governor Bassey Otu disclosed this at a stakeholders engagement at the 2025 national preparedness and response campaign for flood disaster and related hazards held at the Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar.
He said that flooding is one of the most frequent occurrences, that has affected residential buildings, farmlands, and public infrastructure.
Gov. Otu stated that the campaign on flooding, following weather predictions for this year was apt, promising to support the campaign for proactive measures by communities in the state through the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (CRSEMA).
Represented at the event by the Secretary to State Government (SSG), Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, he said the state shoulders 12 active disaster types, including flooding and windstorm.
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Others are landslides, communal clashes, fires, gully erosion, and road and marine accidents.
The governor lamented that the high portfolio of catastrophic disasters is retrogressive to the economic and social development of the state.
In his keynote address, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, said that the campaign was necessitated by the predictions of NIMET and NiHSA of impending heavy rains within the year.
He stated that the rains were capable of causing flood disasters in the country.
According to Umar, the campaign would be taken to all communities in Cross River State in collaboration with the State Emergency Management Agency (CRSEMA) to educate the people on mitigation and response strategies in the event of flooding.