Concerned over the menace of flooding caused majorly by the ocean surge currently ravaging some parts of the southern senatorial district of the state, a renowned Non-profit group, Nigerian Flying Labs, South West Hubs, has advised the Ondo State Government on how to tackle the disaster, mostly through deployment of technologies and development of early warning system.

The organization, who had, in partnership with the state government, undergone a flood assessment tour of the flood ravaging areas of the state, urged the state government to conduct a comprehensive disaster risk vulnerability assessment along the coastal corridor and riverine areas of the state that will involve extensive mapping and aerial data acquisition.

Nigerian Flying Labs, in a statement signed by her Director of Drone Services and Partnerships, Mr. Babajide Akeredolu, advised the state government to see to the procurement of long-range, high endurance drones that can cover vast land areas in a single flight for mapping and surveying along the coastal corridor and riverine areas of the State, adding that the drones will facilitate the production of detailed topographic maps and Digital Elevation Models of all the coastal settlements.

The Public Interest group with branches in most part of the world empowering the younger generation and impacting the society through the technologies, mostly robotics, also suggested that government should conduct an enumeration of all affected properties ravaged by ocean surge and flooding thus far to inform prioritization of government intervention with regards to resettlement and compensation.

The organization said she is ready to partner the state government to develop an early warning system for disaster risk vulnerability reduction to prevent future occurrences of disaster and predict disaster for the residents living in coastal and riverine settlements of the state.

Explaining how the organization had recently partnered the state government to curb flooding in the riverine areas of the state, Nigerian Flying Labs said “the need to generate evidence based assessment data on disaster damage extent, has informed the role of geospatial data and technical infrastructure in disaster assessment, prediction and prevention and the Flying Labs Nigeria, South West Hub, has provided aerial survey to enhance the efforts of the teams commissioned by the state Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to assess the level of flood damage in Igbokoda and Ayetoro, Ilaje LGA.

“With a team of experts from Orbital Solutions Global Services Limited and Yuavi Technologies, we conducted a flood assessment of the areas using drone technology to produce evidence-based aerial assessment that included video and aerial orthophoto of the extent of damage to property in parts of the selected locations.

“We also helped the Government to make an informed intervention in the affected areas and drive disaster vulnerability risk assessment activities in the coastal and riverine areas of Ondo State to prevent collateral damage from flood or ocean encroachment,” the group said.

https://thenationonlineng.net/nigerian-flaying-lab-write-ondo-govt-on-how-to-tackle-flood/