West Africa tackles floods

2011-06-23 10:09

Abuja - West African environmental experts began a two-day meeting in the Nigerian capital on Tuesday to forge a common front to tackle perennial flooding in the region.

Organised by the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (Acmad), the World Bank and other partners, the two-day workshop drew meteorologists, hydrologists and disaster risk managers from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

Tagged "regional simulation exercise on flood early warning systems", the meeting was the 14th annual session of the regional climate outlook forum of Ecowas member states.

"In West Africa, flood disasters leading to meteorological and hydrological hazards are increasing in frequency and occurrence... leading to widespread human, material and environmental losses," said Andrea Diop, the representative of the Ecowas president during the opening ceremony.

"If these challenges are addressed in a collective and coordinated manner between stakeholders it will surely lead to success," Diop told participants.

West Africa has seen increasing floods in recent years due mainly to climate change, with 2.2 million people affected in 2010 alone and more than 500 killed, according to Acmad.

Acmad said following widespread flooding in the region, member states have focused attention on preparedness capacity, mostly in the areas of forecasting and early warning in order to inform vulnerable communities on such disaster.

"Ecowas is a region of a lot of similarities. So the successes registered in some member states should be shared with other member states so that they can be replicated at a cheap and relatively lower cost," Diop said.

- SAPA