The Director-General, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Dr Hajiya Zubaida Umar has revealed that so far, 1,061,254 Nigerians have been affected by the flood, 634,035 displaced and 94,741 houses submerged across the country this year.
She warned that 16 local government areas of Kebbi are expected to be hit by floods this year.
The NEMA Chief spoke at the “2024 Downscaling of Flood Early Warning Strategies for Early Actions,” held in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday.
Mrs Umar, who was represented by Dr Daniel Obot, the Director of Disaster Risk Reduction at the agency, said the early warning strategies were to integrate direct risk communication and engagement approaches to disseminating warnings for early actions at the state, local government 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 vulnerable early warning alerts.
”Consequently, all of us are expected to take action that drastically reduces the adverse impacts of floods on the entire lands and the Nigerian population, especially for the most vulnerable persons living in communities identified to be at risk of flooding,” she said.
She revealed that statistics from the National Emergency Coordination Centre, EOC of NEMA as of Friday, September 13, indicated that 176 LGAs in 30 states including FCT were affected as against the 148 LGAs and 31 states predicted by NIHSA.
”About 1,061,254 persons are affected; 634,035 are being displaced; 94,741 houses are either damaged or destroyed, while 125,805 hectares of farmlands can be regarded as submerged or crops being washed away across the country,” she disclosed.
Also speaking at the event, Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu appreciated NEMA’s proactive stance in assessing flood risk areas, providing relief and strengthening people’s capacity for disaster management.
Governor Idris, represented by his Deputy, Abubakar Umar-Tafida, said: ”Your expertise and resources will bolster our efforts to protect lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.”
He recalled that the state had experienced severe flooding, which affected 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 noted.
The Governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to collaborating with NEMA to ensure effective flood management and disaster risk reduction.