The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned that the country will witness flood this year.
NEMA Director- General, Mustapha Ahmed said this on Monday in Abuja at a seminar organized for stakeholders of the Agency
Ahmed however said some staff of NEMA and other critical stakeholders in disaster management are undergoing training to aid their preparedness and response during emergencies.
Although he did not give a clear picture of the magnitude of the floods, he assured” it is going to flood again.”
The NEMA DG gave statistics of life and property destroyed by floods in the country and said that the agency would collaborate with relevant stakeholders to mitigate the impact of flood.
According to him, “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.
“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.”
Between September and October 2022, Floods ravaged coastal areas of the country eating up lives and land. Many residents affected by the disaster are still counting their losses.
