Alarm over impending earthquake

Experts raise alarm over impending earthquake

Drillers warn on unregulated activities of practitioners

Experts have warned of an impending damaging earthquake in the South-West region and other parts of the country in the next four years, precisely before year 2020.

In the same vein, the Association of Water-well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP) has warned that lack of regulation guiding the abstraction of underground water will induce earthquake and sea water intrusion in the country.

The borehole drillers association said the manner by which people drill underground water without proper regulation and adherence to standard practice in many parts of the country would in a matter of time induce earthquake and sea water intrusion, which could make drinking water difficult to get.

AWDROP National President, Mr. Michael Ale, stated this during a state of nation, water press conference, a quarterly update on the state of water resources in Nigeria meant to educate and sensitise people on the current status of water resources, vis a vis its development, management and issues relating to its institutional arrangement and investment.

According to Ale, AWDROP lamented the many failed borehole projects executed by past governments without proper management procedure for community ownership and sustainability.

He said many of such borehole projects did not last more than a year after commissioning because they were not designed to meet with the current standards and adaptive nature of the needs of the beneficiary community.

While calling on the Federal Government to urgently address the warning on impending earth tremor in Saki, Oyo State, it also observed the indiscriminate drilling practice persistence and the industry being turned into an all comers affairs.

He promised the readiness of the association to partner with state government on rejuvenating and revitalising abandoned borehole projects across the country.

Meanwhile, experts have also warned against some damaging earthquakes that they predicted may affect some parts of the country if the right proactive strategies are not adopted towards preventing the impending disasters.

This warning was contained in a report by Dr. Adepelumi Adekunle Abraham of the Department of Geology, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State after an earth-moving tremor occurred at Shaki town, in the Shaki West Local Government, Oyo State.

Adepelumi, a geologist, who was also instrumental to a similar research after a similar tremor occurred in Abeokuta, Ogun State in September 11, 2009, suggested at the time that the risk of the quake in South-West region was 2.8 per cent in his new report.

Adepelumi’s reports stated, among others: “After the earth tremor of 2009 in southwestern Nigeria that was felt in several towns and villages in Oyo, Osun and Ogun states, a detailed short-term probabilistic earthquake prediction was carried out by our team, our findings indicate the probability of earthquake occurrence in the study area between the year 2009 and 2028 increased from 2.8 per cent to 91.1 per cent.”