The director general of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Ahmed, stated that estimates from relevant agencies suggest that significant floods would occur in Nigeria this year.
He revealed this on Wednesday in Abuja, Nigeria, during a two-day Experts’ Technical Conference on 2023 Climate Related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Measures.
Mr. Ahmed pointed out that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency had made seasonal climate forecasts and annual flood outlooks.
He added that the agency would send early warning messages to states, Local Government Areas, and the Federal Capital Territory, saying that the flood calamity in 2022 was a wake-up call.
The meeting, according to the director-general, would be centered on creating vulnerability and risk mapping that can be used as a reference to prevent major flooding like the one that occurred last year.
“We have started early this year, as we are ready for early warning and early action.
“We will bombard every citizen, state and local government with this information as we want them to know that it is serious.
“We will not keep quiet. We want them to know that there will be a flood this year,” he added.
Ahmed warned people to exercise caution if they live near water canals or floodplains.
In 2023, it is expected that 178 LGAs across 32 states and the FCT will experience severe flooding, according to NIHSA Director-General Clement Nze.
He said; “This time, we came out early with this prediction and we expect that relevant actors, governments and individuals will go to work.
“We expect that actions should be taken, especially at the sub-national levels, early enough, to mitigate the impact of flooding in the country.”
