Expect more floods this year, NEMA warns Nigerians

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned Nigerians to brace up for more floods in the country due to climate change, and the release of water from Lagbo Dam by Cameroonian authorities and the overflowing of rivers in different states.

In the last weeks floods have ravaged Kogi, Bayelsa and some other States in the country, killing about 603 people and displacing 2.5 million others.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, called on the affected state governments to put more effort into evacuating flood victims to higher grounds, disclosing that about 121,318 houses were partially damaged, 82,053 houses were damaged, 108,392 hectares of farmlands were partially damaged, and 332,327 hectares of farmlands were damaged.

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She also pledged that the Nigerian government will soon meet with its Cameroonian counterparts to find a lasting solution to the periodic release of its dam water.

“However, we must initiate a bilateral discussion with authorities in Cameroon in November on the periodic opening of the Lagdo dam. The delegation to Cameroon is to be led by the permanent secretary of the Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be requested to facilitate the meeting,” she said.

According to her, weather forecasts have indicated that states like Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa were still at risk of experiencing floods until the end of November.

“So, we are calling on the respective state governments, LGAs and communities to prepare by evacuating people living on flood plains to high grounds, providing tents and relief materials, fresh water as well as medical supply for a possible outbreak of water-borne diseases,” Farouq warned.