FG approves emergency management plan; NiMet warns of more flooding

The Federal Government has approved emergency management plans to mitigate the impact of the flood nationwide.

After an emergency meeting on flood situation with relevant stakeholders in Abuja on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo told reporters that said government had approved the National Emergency Flood Preparedness and Response Plans to mitigate and reduce the impact of the flood nationwide.

This is as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) warned on Wednesday about more flooding in the North Central and South Eastern states.

NiMet Director General, Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu said at the sideline of the ongoing Hydro-meteorological status and outlook system (HydroSOS) in Abuja that although flooding as a result of rainfall might have reached its peak, flooding as a result of opening of dams and other water holding facilities would still affect states in the two geopolitical zones.

He said that experts responsible for controlling flood disaster had informed the committee that the scale of the 2022 flooding was similar to that of 2012.

He said the meeting would come out with a communique to inform Nigerians that government was not only aware of what the situation was but was prepared to reduce the impact.

On the Federal Government’s intervention, Sani-Gwarzo said that the government is prepared to make sure that those places and communities not affected also get some relief materials.

He recalled that early this year, NiMet predicted that some parts of the country would witness increased rain fall and deep into the rainy season, as one of the African countries would release water from its dam.

Sani-Gwarzo explained that the release of the water led to increase in volume of water that Nigeria was taken in.

He added that the release of the water resulted to the flooding, stressing that by the grace of God, the impact would be reduced to the bearest minimum, saying more lives would be saved.

He said that the National Emergency Management Agency came up with relief materials reaching nothing less than 315,000 people that were displaced across the line of the flooding impact.

“It is on record that over 1.4 million persons were displaced, with about 500 persons been reported dead, 790,254 persons moved out of their locations, while 1,546 persons were injured.

“Similarly,  44,099 houses were partially damaged, 45,249 houses, totally damaged, 76,168 hectares of farmlands were partially destroyed, while 70,566 hectares of farmlands completely destroyed.

“The National Emergency Flood Preparedness and Response Plans for Nigeria has just been approved by the Federal Executive Council and it contains all the details of the roadmap that needs to be done.

“It includes the immediate, short term and long term plans and therefore, we have a clear view of what to do and how to go about it, mitigate and reduce the impact of flood in the country.

“We are taking all the necessary actions to bring relief to the people affected by the flood. All the concern agencies have renewed their commitment to strengthen their efforts in reaching out to the victims and bring relief to them,” he said.

Sani-Gwarzo revealed that during the meeting of the stakeholders, they came out with three prompt approach for the future.

“They include, the immediate actions that would be taken by respective agencies, the short term measures and the long term measures that would be taken by agencies responsible”.

On the part of NiMet, Matazu, said: “You remember, we issued the forecast in February and we followed up with the monthly updates that we’re going to have above normal rainfall in most part of the country. So in terms of the rainfall induced floods, we have seen the peak but remember we told you that this rainwater gets collected into the reservoirs and dams, and whenever they are filled, it gets filled.

“So presently 13th of September, the lagoon dam was released. Other dams were also released. So what we are witnessing now is riverine flooding. And from the information we are gettiing, we are going to see more flood. And now the rains is concentrating on the North Central and the Southern states. So that will be a combination of short duration, high intensity rain, with riverine flooding. We are going to see more of these floods in the north central states as we have seen in Kogi and also south eastern and southwestern states as we are beginning to see in Anambra and some of parts of Southwest”.