NEMA Reveals Over 1 Million Nigerians Affected by 2024 Floods, Warns of Impending Floods in Kebbi

The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Dr Hajiya Zubaida Umar, has disclosed that 1,061,254 Nigerians have been affected by floods across the country this year. Of these, 634,035 individuals have been displaced, while 94,741 houses have been submerged.

Dr Umar, represented by Dr Daniel Obot, NEMA’s Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, made this revelation during the “2024 Downscaling of Flood Early Warning Strategies for Early Actions” event held on Thursday in Birnin Kebbi.

She also warned that 16 local government areas in Kebbi State are expected to be severely impacted by floods in the coming months.

 

The event focused on disseminating flood risk information and implementing early warning strategies to mitigate the effects of impending floods at the state, local government, and community levels.

“The rainfall and flood advisories provided in the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) and the Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) have given us advanced warning.

We must all take necessary action to reduce the impacts of floods, especially for vulnerable communities at risk,” said Mrs Umar.

Providing more detailed statistics, she revealed that data from NEMA’s National Emergency Coordination Centre (EOC) as of September 13, 2024, indicated that 176 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 30 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had been affected.

This was higher than the 148 LGAs across 31 states initially predicted by NIHSA.

“So far, 1,061,254 people have been impacted by floods, with 634,035 displaced.

Additionally, 94,741 houses have been damaged or destroyed, and 125,805 hectares of farmlands have been submerged, causing significant crop loss,” she stated.

At the event, Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, represented by his Deputy, Abubakar Umar-Tafida, expressed gratitude to NEMA for its proactive approach in assessing flood-prone areas and providing relief.

He highlighted the importance of NEMA’s involvement in flood management and disaster risk reduction in the state, particularly as 13 LGAs in Kebbi have recently suffered severe flooding.

“Your expertise and resources will bolster our efforts to protect lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure.

This visit will also help us identify areas of urgent need and improve our flood early warning systems to strengthen preparedness and response,” Governor Idris remarked.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to collaborating with NEMA to enhance flood management and ensure effective disaster risk reduction in the state.