25 states, 72 councils prone to flooding, NEMA warns

NEmergency Management Agency ( NEMA) has warned that 25 states and 72 local councils are around flood high- risk areas within April, May and June this year.

The Director General, Zubaida Umar, made the revelation yesterday at the National Emergency Coordination Forum in Abuja.

She said the statistics as captured in the Seasonal Climate Prediction, ( SCP) and Annual Flood Outlook ( AFO) released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency ( Nimet) and Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency ( NIHSA) indicated heightened vulnerability to flooding.

According to her, the vulnerability would persist into subsequent months of July to September, with 33 states and 135 councils identified as high- risk areas, while the period between October and November has 19 states and 44 local councils.

Umar advised: “As it is rightly said, early warning is to be backed by early action to mitigate the impact of possible disasters.

“Some of the recommendations include but are not limited to community sensitisation and awareness campaign to ensure early desilting and clearing of debris in water bodies to prevent blockages.”

She listed the states at risk to include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue and Borno.

Also on the list are Cross

River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Kebbi.

The rest are Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.

She added: “Monitoring of dam discharge and regulations, as well as creating detention dams is ongoing. The need for sub- national entities to mobilise floodprone communities to clear waterways and channels and relocate from flood plains is also essential.”