NEMA, SEMA assess ocean surge disaster in Aiyetoro

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ekiti Operations Office, has carried out assessment of ocean surge disaster in Aiyetoro Community, Ilaje Local Government, Ondo State.

It was discovered that the disaster occurred as a result of the increased volume and tidal effects of the Atlantic Ocean, which rose due to heavy rainfall.

The Ekiti Operations Office of NEMA, in collaboration with the Ondo SEMA, carried out the assessment.

It was observed that more than half of the community has been washed away as a result of the disaster which has now become a yearly occurrence.

The tidal effects of the Atlantic Ocean, which rose due to heavy rainfall led to more than half of the community being washed away.

Many residential buildings, place of worships, town hall, a technical college, docking yard, power supply plant and speed boats were lost to the climate disaster.

Spare part shops and other public infrastructures were also completely washed away.

The surge of Monday, April 17, saw houses and public buildings in the community overrun by the ocean.

Environmental activist and Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, said: “Ayetoro is symbolic of the neglect our coastal communities have been exposed to over time.

“It is a pathetic story of a rich and well organised historic community being degraded.

“It is also a warning that many more communities are going under the water. It is a global phenomenon exacerbated by global warming.

“Now is the time for the government and the communities to draw a line in the sand and say this ‘far and no more!’.

“That sounds easy to say, but it requires investment— just as this year’s Earth Day demands.”