MONROVIA: The Head of the National Disaster Management Agency of Liberia (NDMA), Henry Williams, has disclosed that over 90,000 Liberians and residents have been uprooted by flood, outbreak fire, Windstorms and sea erosion in the country.
According to Mr. Williams, the incidents occurred from January this year up to present, and that six of Liberia’s fifteen (15) political sub-divisions or counties have been affected by the ugly situation.
He named the six counties that have been severely impacted by the disasters as Bong, Gbarpolu, Lofa, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Margibi, Grand Bassa and Montserrado.
He underscored the urgent need for the creation of education and public awareness programs for citizens to take actions aimed at mitigating the situation against the increasing risks of flood, coastal erosion, fire, and other hazards.
He noted that “whole Community approach and anticipation actions are very crucial in disaster the management, because such risks are crosscutting issues.
The situation, he added, can put national development programs at risk, and development choices, can likewise, generates new disaster risks if they are not properly dealt with.
The NDMA Boss raised the alarm on Thursday October 20, 2022, in the Conference room of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), during its regular press briefing on Capitol Hill in Monrovia.
According to him, disaster reduction is necessary because it is a developmental challenge that should be addressed through development interventions.
He underscored the importance of preventing and reducing risks of disaster for the enforcement of building codes and zoning laws.
He stressed the need for people to be stopped from building in water ways and on wetlands.
Williams used the occasion to call for a stronger partnership, effective and efficient communication, coordination, among stakeholders.
He also calls for safe and equitable access to sufficient quantity of water for drinking, cooking, personal and domestic hygiene and to operationalize the disaster Management Trust Fund.
He added that this measure would go a long way to take care of mitigation and response activities of the National Disaster Management Agency.
He said it has been a huge challenge for the National Disaster Management Agency.
He asserted that if the National Disaster Management Agency was not accorded adequate financial support, it would have been very difficult to address some of the major problems that the agency faces.
He appealed to central government to give the agency more funding attention, stressing the need for the agency to be made more visible and empowered funding-wise.
Williams further recommended the empowerment of the agency in the implementation of its statutory mandate that calls for prompt response to the most vulnerable persons during hazards.
It should be done through the procurement and prepositioning of humanitarian supplies and the decentralization of the activities of the agency.
Williams indicated that when the agency is empowered, it will be able to recruit regional Coordinators, provide mobility through the purchase of transport equipment, among others in accordance with the Act creating the agency and the operationalization of the agency’s Trust Fund Account at the Central Bank of Liberia.
