OVER A MILLION NIGERIANS WILL DIE IF NYOS DAM SHOULD COLLAPSE- NEMA

Over a million Nigerians are likely to die
if the Nyos Dam in Cameroon should
collapse the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) has
warned.

The agency made this known at the
presentation of a manual to prevent such an
occurrence. The manual, which was endorsed
on Thursday at a ceremony in Abuja by
stakeholders, aims to put measures in place
to mitigate flood waters from the lake from
affecting the people of Benue State.
The agency said the manual, titled Lake Nyos
Disaster Response Manual, was produced to
“proactively prepare for the disaster that may
arise from the possible collapse’’ of the Lake
Nyos Dam in Western Cameroon.

Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammed
Sidi, said Lake Nyos was close to Nigeria and
that a 2005 UNDP report had predicted that
the dam was at “a point of potential
collapse’’.
Sidi, who was represented by NEMA’s
Director of Administration, Dr. Zanna
Muhammad, said the report predicted that
the collapse might be caused by gradual
erosion from rain, wind and lake waters, or as
a result of violent volcanic eruption.
The representative of the DG explained that
the report mentioned the possibility of the
breakdown of the dam within 10 years,
adding that the eventual failure of the dam
would result in the discharge of about 55
million cu. metres of water which would
result in flooding downstream.
“It is estimated that between Cameroon
border and River Benue, 50 settlements,
including Katsina-Ala, Kashimbilla, Waya,
Manga, Gamovo, Andie, Terwegh and over
15,000 hectares of land will be flooded.
“Also, over one million people and 20,000
heads of cattle and other livestock will be
affected and could perish,” he said.
He also said that financial losses had been
estimated to be in billions of naira,
comprising of crops, residential and
commercial structures, utilities and
infrastructure, including roads and bridges
and other services.