The Federal Government has inaugurated the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), National Seismic Station-Five, Katampe, that would assist in mitigating impact of natural disasters in the country.
Seismic refers to earthquakes or other vibrations of the earth and its crust, caused by human activities like explosions and drilling.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to provide the needed resources for expansion of seismic monitoring equipment across the country.
Alake commended the agency for establishing the fifth monitoring station, saying: “We intend to pursue the policy of making the necessary resources available to the agency to expand these stations to other parts of the country.
“Nature cannot be second guessed, neither can we predetermine with scientific exactitude when natural disasters will occur.
“But we can estimate when such incidence will occur and that will assist in making contingency arrangements to mitigate the adverse effect of such disasters on the populace.”
This, he noted, would boost the nation’s preparedness to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
He said that recent occurrences of earth tremors in Nigeria had caught the country unprepared, emphasising the need for establishment of seismic stations to change the situation.
“These seismic monitoring stations will enable the detection and monitoring of future occurrence of earthquake and tremor in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“It will also help to upscale the level of safety in the FCT.”
He said the effect of climate change could cause severe drought and reduced rainfall among other issues, which could inhibit Nigeria’s hydropower systems operation.
According to him, it can also affect agricultural activities, crucial for ensuring food security and good health.
“This is why the ministry of solid minerals development considers it a top priority to support the NGSA with the necessary resources at its disposal.
“This is to ensure that all the agency’s seismic monitoring stations are actively operational and well maintained,” he said.
He said the establishment of the centre was crucial in addressing natural hazards such as tremors or earthquakes, as the country had recorded such occurrences in recent years in Bayelsa, Kaduna and the FCT.
He said the ministry after its investigations of the nature and origin of the tremors from the NGSA, banned all quarrying and drilling activities within the FCT as temporary measures.
“The absence of a single seismic detection and monitoring instrument in the FCT then, has hindered proper understanding of the nature and origin of these tremors.
“The ministry after gathering reports on the likely causes of the tremor from NGSA and other relevant bodies, directed the immediate installation of earthquake monitoring stations in strategic locations around the FCT,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director General of NGSA, Dr Abdulrazak Garba, said that the earthquake and seismic monitoring systems remained crucial in helping the agency take necessary action to mitigate losses, including the protection of lives.
He urged the minister to advocate for capacity building for the staff of NGSA in seismic monitoring.
He said the capacity building would particularly focus on modern technical innovations in seismology and earthquake source parameter detections, among other areas, to ensure reliable data analysis.
By Martha Agas
