The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has forecasted significant rainfall for 2023, thus business owners in Nigeria must take early measures to protect their assets from this year’s rain’s potential for damage.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that this information was revealed in an interview with an insurance executive, Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale, which was published on Monday night.
The National Emergency Management Agency issued a warning to Nigerians earlier this year, telling them to prepare for significant floods in 2023.
Business owners, according to Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale, need to be proactive in preparing for events that may occur notwithstanding the weather forecast.
“NiMET predicted that 2023 would have an early commencement of rainfall followed by flooding in its forecast that was issued in January.
“Starting in March, there will be severe rainfall in the South-South’s coastal regions, especially in Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers.
“Precipitation will fall in southern inland cities in April, while significant rains will fall in central states in May.
“NIMET additionally forecasted additional rainfall in the states of Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, Ogun, and Lagos.”
He added that according to The Insurance Executive, since agriculture-based states would also be impacted, investors in agriculture businesses, business owners, property and asset managers, families, and individuals must take proactive measures to reduce the catastrophic human and material losses that could result from the approaching floods.
“The start of the rainy season, which peaks between July and September, will be felt in the northern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, and Borno between June and July.
“Food security must be given top priority given that Nigeria’s food inflation rate peaked at 24.35 percent in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics report.
“There is also a pressing need to safeguard the significant investments that have already been made in agriculture.”
The National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, reported that agriculture lost approximately N700 billion to floods in 2022, and Hassan-Odukale added that it contributed 26.97 percent to GDP and was the sector most vulnerable to flooding.
In addition, the construction and real estate sectors were vulnerable to flooding in 2023. The floods of 2022 caused 662 deaths in 33 states, destroyed agricultural investments and other properties worth trillions of naira, and displaced more than two million Nigerians. The floods also caused the national economy to lose more than 4.2 trillion naira.
Remember that earlier this year, the Nigerian government through the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria had warned Nigerians to expect major floods in 2023 and advised them to take preparations if they lived near waterways or flood plains.
According to the Director General of NEMA, Mr. Mustapha Ahmed, Nigeria will experience significant flooding this year citing predictions from relevant agencies.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency have made seasonal climate forecasts and annual flood outlooks, he continued, adding that the flood calamity of 2022 was a teaching moment. The Federal Capital Territory, local government areas, and states would also get early warning communications from NEMA.
“This year, we got going early because we are prepared for early warning and early response. We will saturate the state and municipal governments with information about this issue because we want them to understand how critical it is. We won’t remain silent. We want them to know that this year there will be flooding.
