By Ola Fadoju
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced that over 300 people have died and 100,000 displaced following the flooding of 29 states this year, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The Director of NEMA made this known during a parley at the Emergency Technical Meeting on the flood situation in Nigeria held on 19th September 2022 at NEMA Headquarters, Abuja.
He revealed that 29 states including the FCT, have experienced heavy flooding with more than 500,000 persons already affected.
He also said: “More than 300 lives have been lost, over 500 persons are seriously injured with more than 100,000 displaced and living either in temporary shelters including schools and other public buildings amongst benevolent host families.”
In a related development, the operators of the Lagdo Dam in the Republic of Cameron have commenced the release of excess water from the reservoir by 13th September 2022. Consequently, the released water cascades down to Nigeria through River Benue and its tributaries, inundating communities that have already been impacted by heavy precipitation.
The released water complicates the situation further downstream as Nigeria’s inland reservoirs including Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro are also expected to overflow between now and October according to Nigeria Hydrological Services Agencies (NIHSA).
Based on reports from NIHSA, Kainji and Jenna dams have already started spilling excess water from their reservoirs.
This will have severe consequences for Frontline States and communities along the courses of rivers Niger and Benue. These states include, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Niger, and Delta states including Edo, Delta, Anambra, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa, are expected to record heavy floods due to predicted above-normal rain coupled with the combined waters of rivers Niger and Venue as they empty into the region.
Therefore, NEMA is advising all the governments of the Frontline states to move away from communities at risk of inundation, identify safe higher grounds for evacuation of persons and preposition adequate stockpiles of food and non-food items, potable water, hygiene, safety and security to enable them a fair level of comfort during periods of possible displacement.
Also, NEMA is seeking the full support of state governments, especially through their State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and other critical state-level actors.
