The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, has warned that Nigeria will experience severe flooding in 2023 as indicated by predictions from responsible agencies.
Speaking at a recent event in Abuja, Ahmed said the seasonal climate predictions and annual flood outlook released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), should be acted upon.
According to him, “The flood dis@ster in 2022 was an eye-opener. However, the agency would spread early warning messages to states and local government areas and the Federal Capital Territory.
The 2022 flood dis@ster which is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria has wr£aked havoc in all the states of the country. It was an eye-opener. Many of the affected communities are yet to recover from the impacts of the deva§tating event.
The 2022 flood dis@ster coupled with its associated hazards is, therefore, a wake-up call for emergency responders, development agencies, and partners to work assiduously to avert a repeat of the incident, especially in consideration of the heightened level of vulnerability in several communities of our country.
We have started early this year, as we are ready for early warning and early action. We will bombard every citizen, state and local government with this information as we want them to know that it is serious and we will not keep quiet, because we want them to know that there will be flood this year.”
He further advised that those living around water channels and floodplains should take precautions.