The National Emergency Management Agency has urged residents of flood-prone communities across Nigeria to immediately relocate to safer and higher locations, warning that ignoring early flood alerts could lead to avoidable deaths and massive destruction of property.
The Director-General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, gave the warning in a statement issued on Saturday as heavy rainfall continues across several parts of the country, raising fears of severe flooding during the peak of the rainy season.
Umar advised vulnerable communities to activate flood preparedness measures and strictly comply with advisories issued by relevant government agencies.
She said, “The current period of heightened rainfall calls for the activation of community-level flood mitigation measures to minimise the impact of flooding.”
The NEMA boss urged residents in flood-prone areas to monitor weather forecasts and move to higher ground whenever floodwaters threaten their communities.
She also cautioned Nigerians against engaging in activities capable of worsening flooding, including driving or walking through floodwaters and dumping refuse into drainage channels.
According to her, blocked waterways remain one of the major factors responsible for severe flooding in many parts of the country.
Umar further appealed to members of the public to promptly report emergency situations to relevant authorities to facilitate swift rescue operations.
“Preparedness and early evacuation remain the most effective ways of preventing avoidable loss of lives and reducing the impact of floods during the peak of the rainy season,” she said.
She disclosed that NEMA had directed its zonal directors and heads of operations offices nationwide to intensify public sensitisation campaigns on flood preparedness.
According to her, the officials have also been instructed to strengthen collaboration with State Emergency Management Agencies, Local Emergency Management Committees, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to coordinate search-and-rescue operations where necessary.
The NEMA boss reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to monitoring flood situations across the country and providing timely emergency response and humanitarian assistance to affected communities.
The warning follows recent flood outlooks issued by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency and the Federal Ministry of Environment, both of which projected increased flood risks across several states during the peak of the rainy season.
NIHSA recently identified 14 states—Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Lagos, Niger and Plateau—as facing a medium risk of flooding between July 14 and July 20.
Similarly, the Federal Ministry of Environment issued flood alerts for 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory, warning that persistent rainfall could trigger flooding in hundreds of communities and urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain vigilant and relocate when necessary.
Nigeria experiences devastating floods almost every year, with thousands of homes destroyed, farmlands submerged and lives lost, while hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced in recent years, prompting repeated calls by emergency management agencies for early evacuation and improved flood preparedness.
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