The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Wednesday said that it responded to 1,682 incidents from January to December 2022.
The LASEMA Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said this in a statement in Lagos.
Oke-Osanyintolu said that collated data revealed new trends in emergency occurrences as development and economic activities continued to increase across the state.
“In year 2022, out of the 1,682 incidents LASEMA attended to, 165 incidents occurred in January, 155 in February, 148 in March, 107 in April, 160 in May, and 112 in June.
“In the second half of 2022, the agency responded to 126 incidents in July, 140 in August, 148 in September, 141 in October, 124 in November and 156 incidents in December.
“In the last four years, collated data revealed that LASEMA attended to 1,029 incidents in 2019, 1,043 incidents in 2020, 1,743 incidents in 2021 and 1,682 incidents in 2022,” he said.
Oke-Osanyintolu said that out of the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state with Alimosho recording the highest incidents of 239 in 12 months.
He also said that Ikeja recorded the second highest with 200 incidents followed by Oshodi-Isolo with 165 incidents.
“These communities would benefit from additional advocacy and community outreach from all first responders as well as community leaders.
“Over time, collated data had revealed new trends in emergency occurrence as development and economic activities continued to increase across the state.
“These new and increasing economic activities have in turn, impeded directly and indirectly, on emerging forms of emergency and disasters, with a spiral effect.
“Hence, the need to fashion out new approaches to emerging issues in disaster management,” he said.
He added that much of 2022 was spent building capacity and upgrading resources and equipment for first responders including the Lagos State Ambulance Service and Lagos State Fire and Rescue Agency, among others.
“We believe that the resilience of Lagos State has been strengthened to cover increased geographic spread as well as diversification of transport modes along with a harmonised strategic five-year road map.
“The equipping and training of the Local Emergency Management Committees slated for 2023 will suit each LGA and Local Council Development Areas taking into account the incident pattern within each community.
“Our action plan for 2023 is taking all these into account and remain dynamic to address the evolving needs of 22 million Lagosians and we will not relent in our efforts,” he said. (NAN)