The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has alerted the residents of Kwara State about potential high and moderate flooding in five local government areas as the rainy season begins.
This warning was issued on Tuesday by NEMA’s Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, during the 2024 Downscaling of Flood Early Warning Systems event in Ilorin.
Represented by the Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Daniel Obot, Mrs. Umar identified the at-risk local government areas as Pategi, Edu, Kaiama, Asa, and Baruten.
She urged the Kwara State Government to implement proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the predicted flooding.
Mrs. Umar emphasized the importance of the flood early warning program for facilitating effective early actions to protect lives and livelihoods during the rainy season.
According to her, the 2024 rainy season forecast indicates that these local government areas in Kwara State will likely experience flooding, highlighting the necessity of downscaling flood early warning and risk mitigation messages to the grassroots level.
Citing the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency’s 2024 Annual Flood Outlook, Mrs. Umar noted that 31 states and 148 local government areas across Nigeria are predicted to be at high risk of flooding.
Additionally, 35 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 249 local government areas, are considered to be at moderate flood risk. The remaining 377 local government areas are forecasted to be at low flood risk.
These risk assessments aim to help governments at all levels develop effective risk reduction measures to prevent disaster losses during the rainy season.
Mrs. Umar also pointed out that sectors such as agriculture and food security, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, health, transportation, and public security need to establish mechanisms for disaster preparedness and risk reduction based on the early action strategies.
In response, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Saba Mamman-Jubril, praised NEMA for its proactive measures.
Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the event, Professor Mamman-Jubril highlighted the need for constructing dykes or levees along riverbanks and coastal shorelines to prevent flooding.
He also called for frequent dredging, building of more buffer zones, and afforestation to reduce the risk of flooding in affected communities.
Alhaji Ibrahim Olatunji, the Personal Assistant and representative of the Oba of Jebba, Abdulkadir Adebara, appealed to the state government to relocate residents of riverine communities to ensure their safety.
Similarly, Alhaji Gana Lukpadu, the Ciroma of Patigi, expressed concern over the recurrent severe flooding in his community and urged the government at all levels to find lasting solutions to the flooding issues in Kwara State and nationwide.
