About 1.6 million people have been affected by flooding in Nigeria between April and September 2024, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.
The Director-General of the agency, Hajiya Zubaida Umar, made this known on Thursday during the ‘2024 downscaling of flood early warning strategies’ event held in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
Represented by the Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, Dr Daniel Obot, the DG also said that 634,035 were displaced, and 94,741 houses were destroyed or submerged.
She said the early warning strategies aimed to integrate direct risk communication and engagement approach to disseminate early warning messages for early actions at the state, LG, and community levels.
”The rainfall and flood advisories contained in the Season Climate Prediction (SCP), and Annual Flood Outlooks (AFO) of Nigeria, Meteorological Agency and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), respectively, have provided us with early warning alerts.
”Consequently, all of us are expected to take actions that will drastically reduce the adverse impacts of floods on the entire lands and Nigerian population, especially for the most vulnerable persons living in communities identified to be at risk of flooding,” she said.
Umar said that the statistics from the National Emergency Coordination Centre (EOC) of NEMA as at Sept. 13, 176 LGAs in 30 states including the FCT were affected as against the 148 LGAs and 31 states predicted by NIHSA.
In his remarks, Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, appreciated NEMA’s proactive stance in assessing flood risk areas, providing relief and strengthening our capacity for disaster management.
“Your expertise and resources will bolster our efforts to protect lives, livelihoods and infrastructure,” he said.
Idris, who was represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Umar-Tafida, said the state had experienced severe flooding in at least 13 LGAs recently, displacing communities and affecting agricultural productivity.
” Your visit will help identify more areas of urgent need and enhance flood early warning systems, strengthening emergency preparedness and response, as well as providing relief and rehabilitation support,” he said.
The governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to collaborating with NEMA to ensure effective flood management and disaster risk reduction.