Ministry of Information Conference Room, Youyi Building, Freetown, May 26, 2022 — The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has updated the Media on its National Flood Mitigation Plan at the Ministry of Information and Communication’s weekly press briefing.
In fulfilment of the May 16, 2022 directive from the Hon. Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa which accorded the National Disaster Management Agency the responsibility of flood mitigation in the country, a National Flood Mitigation Meeting was held at the Conference Hall of NDMA’s Headquarters at Aberdeen, Freetown on the 22nd of May, 2022.
During the press briefing, a comprehensive presentation was done by NDMA’s Director of Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Abubakarr Bangura and the Director of Risk Reduction & Preparedness, Thomas A. Lebbie as well as Success S. Kamara, Public Relations Manager, Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency (SL Met)
Presentation on the National Flood Mitigation Plan revealed that NDMA has done the necessary risk and hazard assessment and has identified and categorized 54 Critical Areas and 48 High Risk Areas for a Five (5) day coordinated cleaning exercise.
They also provided an update for all the disasters that happened last year whilst showcasing the potential disasters that NDMA had mitigated respectively. “It is very evident that last year whilst we were preparing for floods in Freetown and other areas that are prone to disaster, we had more fire incidents during the raining season than floods” asserted Director Lebbie.
As he analyzed the cleaning process, the Director of Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Abubakarr Bangura narrated how household debris are being deposited into drainages and gutters from residents within the hillside communities only for those deposited rubbish to cause major blockage to waterways leading to flooding. “For example, Bollore has annually spent a lot of money to clear drainages in the Moa Wharf Community. But after those cleaning exercises, waste are deliberately deposited into the same drainages by scrupulous individuals especially at night. This is why we need the media for sensitization and community engagements in order to enhance behaviorial change.” He added.
Speaking on the National Flood Mitigation Plan, the Director of Risk Reduction & Preparedness, Lebbie explained about NDMA’s Short Term, Medium Term and Long Term Plan for Flood Mitigation. “NDMA is designed to work with various MDA’s, Partners and Community stakeholders as part of its mandate. The Short Term Plan is the Five (5) days cleaning exercise which shall be sustained by SLRA’s Twenty (20) days cleaning exercise. Our plan to engage all the relevant MDAs on Waste Management Policies and Regulations is our Medium Term Plan whilst our Long Time Plan is to engage the Sectors responsible for the production and marketing of plastics in order for them to migrate from Plastic production to Paper” He stressed.
The PRO of SL Met, Success S. Kamara presented on the Seasonal Outlook and how they provide NDMA with qualitative and quantitative technical data for proper disaster management and other related emergencies.
Questions from the media were provided with answers by NDMA’s Director of Communications, Mohamed L. Bah who is expected to engage the media further on the National Flood Mitigation Plan in coming weeks.
For More Enquiries:
Directorate of Communications
National Disaster Management Agency
Contact: +23278388946
Email: mohamedlbah@ndma.gov.sl
