NIHSA’s Alert: Bracing For More Floods

Speaking at the public presentation of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency’s (NIHSA) 2021 An
nual Flood Outlook (AFO) in Abuja, May this year, the Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, disclosed that communities in 28 states in the country stood the risk of experiencing varying degrees of flooding in 2021.
“The floods projections show varying severity across parts of the country. In summary, the 2021 AFO forecast indicates that 32 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will fall within the moderate probable flood risk areas. It is expected from the forecast that 121 local government areas in 28 states will fall within the highly probable risk areas. The states surrounding Rivers Niger and Benue are, without doubt, going to experience severe flooding”, he said.
The minister who noted that floods are usually accompanied by health risks through contamination of potable water sources, expressed the fear that the effect of this year’s flooding might be exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore urged all the tiers of government, policy makers and every other stakeholders to take appropriate measures to avert maximum impact.
In the same vein, the Director General of the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Mr Clement Nze, last month, warned Nigerians to expect heavy flooding this year, listing Lagos and Ogun States as likely to experience further flood-related disasters.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, July 28, the NIHSA DG said “As at today, flood disasters have occurred in many states, notably in Lagos Councils of Mushin, Shomolu, Victoria Island, Lekki, Marina; Keffi in Nasarawa, Onitsha in Anambra; Owerri in Imo; Aba, Abia; Ilorin and Offa, Kwara; Kaduna; Bori, Rivers; Ijebu Ode, Ogun; Asaba, Delta; Jalingo, Taraba; Gashua, Yobe; Ado Ekiti, Ekiti; Akure town, Ondo; Katsina; Maidugiri, Borno and Enugu. It must be pointed out that virtually all the flood incidents above were caused by poor drainage systems as localised rainfall generated the urban flooding. River flooding and coastal flooding are yet to set in”.
Mr Nze, therefore, urged states and local government councils, stakeholders, multi-national companies, public-spirited individuals and philanthropists to, without delay, swing into action with measures to prevent the danger ahead instead of waiting to rehabilitate victims.
Last Friday, in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) sounded the alarm for Nigerians to brace up for imminent floods between the months of August and October this year.
Speaking with journalists after sensitising some residents on how to avoid flooding, the Director of Operations of NEMA in charge of Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States, Mr Olusegun Afolayan, said 28 states and 102 local government areas face the prospect of being flooded any moment from now due to impending heavy rainfall in the country.
“There is a prediction from NIMET in February, and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) in May, informing us of impending heavy rainfall due to climate change and the Ozon layer that will lead to flooding”, Mr Afolanyan said, adding that rising water levels could also result when dams are opened to release water while Cholera outbreak resulting from drinking water contamination is a direct consequence.
Flooding is, no doubt, a yearly occurrence during the rainy season. However, a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that extreme weather patterns caused by long-term global climate change increase the likelihood of floods while the Nigeria Metrological Agency 2021 seasonal climate forecast indicates that Nigeria is expected to experience unprecedented heavy down pours.
There is no doubt that the alarm bells being sounded by the various national and international agencies on the looming flood disasters in the country are to alert Nigerians, governments at all levels, relevant agencies and all stakeholders of what is to come with a view to getting them prepared to appropriately and adequately respond.
Across the globe, flooding is already causing calamitous damage with Germany and Belgium already losing more than 170 lives to the severe natural disaster. In Nigeria, the impact of flooding killed about 68 people, affected 320 LGAs in 35 states, including the FCT, displaced 129,000, destroyed houses and washed away farmlands. This year, 816 Nigerians across 26 states have already died from Cholera, a disease that is directly associated with flooding.
As noted by the relevant agencies with the impending floods, Nigeria faces critical food security challenges already compromised and complicated by the intractable security situation and the rampaging Covid-19 pandemic. An urgent spirited intervention from everyone concerned is, therefore, needed to save lives, mitigate social disruptions and ameliorate economic dislocations among the people.
The Tide believes that there is nothing anybody can do to stop the disaster waiting to happen from taking effect, but there is certainly a lot that can be salvaged with all hands on deck. The National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Federal Ministry of Information and its counterparts in the states and their corresponding organs in the local government areas must quickly swing into action and spread the message to all the nooks and crannies of the country, sensitising Nigerians and enlightening them on the appropriate things to do.
The emergency management and response agencies at all levels should be adequately equipped to live up to their responsibilities. Local government councils must be at the vanguard of desilting drains and opening up blocked water paths while taking seriously the issue of development control.
Finally, the people must be made to take personal responsibility to imbibe the culture of ensuring that drains and waterways are regularly cleared of debris while jettisoning the habit of throwing solid wastes in the gutters. Of course, the duty to contain the devastating effect of the predicted dangers of the 2021 flood season in the country is every Nigerian’s.