The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has predicted that Nigeria will experience flooding in 2023.
The Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed made this known in Abuja on Monday at a seminar organised for NEMA stakeholders.
The agency however said that early warning would lessen the expected impact even though the flood’s level and the regions it will strike are yet unknown.
Speaking on floods and efforts made to mitigate their impact, Ahmed said: “Records indicate that 662 persons have lost their lives, 3,174 others have suffered injuries and 2,430,445 individuals have been displaced by the floods. Thousands of houses, hectares of farmlands, and several critical national assets were destroyed by the raging floods.
Read also: Report says climate change will decrease maize, cotton yield in Punjab
“It is going to flood again this year, there is no doubt about it but how severe it’s going to be is what we don’t know for now but it is going to flood again”.
On how to mitigate the impact of the flood, he said: “After this training and the release of the Seasonal Climate Prediction by NiMet and the release of the flood outlook by NIHSA, we will gather stakeholders to analyse and interpret them and then attach vulnerable areas mapping and send it out to States. We will write to the governors.
“We have seen one or two mistakes from our engagement last year. We have to collaborate with all the States and we cannot work if NEMA is moving on one side and the States are moving on another side. We have to collectively work together.
“So, we will identify areas and show them (governors) the areas that will be affected.”
He added that NEMA is currently working on the long-term recovery of affected communities across the country in partnership with State governments and other partners.
Story was adapted from The Nation.
