The federal government yesterday raised the alarm over possible severe flooding beginning from the end of this month, saying 18 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are likely to be adversely affected.
The government also warned that prolonged flooding incidents might escalate the cholera incidents currently ravaging some states.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Terlumun Utsev, while addressing reporters in Abuja yesterday, said Nigeria had been experiencing flash/urban floods since May, resulting from high intensification of rainfall which has been prolonged, as well as poor and blocked drainage systems in many urban areas.
He said from the end of July, the country might start experiencing river flooding, which might be more devastating.
He listed states at high risk to include Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Rivers and Taraba as well as the FCT.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had on Wednesday said 63 people had died of cholera with 2,102 suspected cases.
Since April 10, some states and the FCT have experienced flooding resulting in casualties and huge damage to properties.
The Water Resources minister said river flooding was expected from major rivers like the Niger and Benue, urging for continuous monitoring and proactive measures.
He noted that Nigeria is located at the lowest portion of the River Niger Basin, which means that once the upper catchment of the basin gets flooded, the country should be prepared to experience flooding incidents.
On the situation with Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, the minister said the operators had informed the country that they were currently filling the dam for hydropower generation.
He said the flow situation at Wuroboki was relatively normal now and that there was no cause for alarm.
On what the government was doing to mitigate the annual flooding from the release of water from the Lagdo Dam, he said arrangements were almost completed to build buffer dams along the water channel to camp water from that particular dam.
He said the designs of the dams had been done and that the government was almost at the implementation stage.
He said a presidential committee had been set up to see how any possible outbreak could be tackled.
He said the committee was also looking at the issue of open defecation which, according to him, is another causal factor for cholera.
Utsev said a realigned 2023 flood report had led to the formation of a new committee chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima to address broader disaster management issues, including erosion and desertification.
He said the committee had submitted its report which had been approved by the National Economic Council, with implementation strategies set to commence shortly.
The minister urged state and local governments, and other stakeholders to take measures to prevent the ugly flooding menace of the past years.
Clement Nze, Director-General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), said his agency had, in the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook released in April, predicted that 148 local government areas across 31 states are at high risk of flooding this year.
He said the federal government had dispatched such outlooks to the state governments and even held a meeting on the issue with representatives of the states.
The acting Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Department, Florence Wenegieme, said the FCT Administration had been carrying out enlightenment on the need to clear drainage systems and desist from dumping refuse on waterways. States roll out enlightenment campaigns.