Nigeria’s flood managers predict likely rise in water level in south

While the coastal states in the north can heave a sigh of relief in 10 days’ time, their counterparts in the south will have to remain vigilant till December.

A recent update by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has predicted September 28 as the near end of flooding ravaging Sokoto and Katsina.

The agency based its calculation on NiMet’s 2018 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) released earlier in the year.

“The implication of this is that the Northern part of the country should be expecting more rains in the next 3 weeks,” the Sept 6 update stated.

“High flows are still being expected from the upper catchment of the Niger Basin.”

According to the NIHSA, the River Benue is equally rising, though the level of water as at today has not attained the level witnessed at this time in 2012.

In Sept. 2012, a maximum flood level of 12.840m and the corresponding discharge of 31,692 cubic metres/second were recorded in the agency’s Lokoja station.

It, however, warned that the expected rise in water level should not be attributed to any release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

“The Dam is still impounding water in the reservoir,” it said.

It added that the urban flooding incidents witnessed in some cities and communities will continue because of high rainfall intensity of shorter duration, rainstorms, blockage of drainage system and poor urban planning, as well as coastal flooding resulting from sea rise and storm surges.

Flood has ravaged communities in Edo, Lagos, Jigawa, Lagos, and others, prompting the federal government to release N3 billion to manage and mitigate the disaster.