102 Councils, 28 States prone to flooding, says NEMA

By Faith Yahaya, AbujaThe National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said 102 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 28 States are more prone to flooding this year.To mitigate the impact of the flooding in the states, the agency said it has written to the affected Governors to prepare.The agency said the letter indicated the areas that would be affected, adding that it highlighted the steps to be taken to reduce the impact of the flooding.The agency also said it has commenced stockpiling food items ahead of the flooding because of the unpredictable impact of the floodingNEMA, while describing 2020 as a year of an incident within an incident following the outbreak of COVID-19, said managing flood disaster will be a herculean task.Its Director-General, AVM Muhammadu Muhammed (Rtd), disclosed these in Abuja on Friday while giving an update on its 2020 flood preparedness, mitigation, and response.Muhammed said: Floods can cause widespread devastation, resulting in loss of lives and damages to property and critical public infrastructure. Unfortunately, 2020 is going to be a year of an incident within an incident with the Country battling Covid-19 pandemic, managing a flood disaster will be a herculean task.Read Also:Flooding: Edo, Fire Service, NEMA rescue victims, assess damageAccording to 2020, the general outlook of annual rainfall amount is predicted to be normal to above normal in Nigeria, thus some places are expected to have above-normal rainfall which may result into floods in 2020.Correspondingly, the 2020 Annual Flood Outlook forecasted flooding in some parts of the country where 102 LGAs in 28 States fall within the highly probable flood risk areas, while 275 LGAs in the 36 States of the Federation including the FCT fall within the moderately probable flood risk areas.The remaining 397 LGAs fall within the low probable flood risk areas. These predictions are expected to have an impact on various sectors including agriculture, water resources, health, transport, and infrastructure.On steps taken to mitigate the likely impact, the DG said: We have stock-piled relief materials both food & non-food items that will be needed in providing succour to people that may be affected.We have also written letters to inform all the State Governors indicating the LGAs that may be affected by the flood and also suggested the proactive mitigation measures that are expected to be taken.On how flooding would be managed amidst COVID-19, the DG said: The protocols of COVID-19 emphasise physical distancing and the use of face masks. If the flood leads to the displacement of people, they may need to be sheltered in IDP Camps where people will be in close contact. With the already overstretched health infrastructure, this will lead to a complex humanitarian situation.The DG while calling for collective efforts to reduce the impact of the flood also urged Nigerians to ensure that drainages are well cleared while taking other precautionary measures.
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