THE Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said heavy rainfall is expected in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and in neighbouring states on Sunday, July 23.
FEMA said it has, consequently, placed its emergency response team on high alert over the anticipated rainfall.
This was revealed in a statement released in Abuja on Friday, July 21 by the agency’s head of public affairs, Nkechi Isah, on behalf of the agency’s director general, Abbas Idriss.
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According to the statement, Idriss said the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) had predicted that moderate-to-heavy rain would fall on the Sunday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its bordering states.
He added that portions of Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, and Taraba were also expected to have moderate-to-heavy rains.
He said that in addition to thunder and lightning because of the anticipated intense downpour, NiMET also issued warnings about potential flash floods, riverine flooding, strong winds, and soil erosion.
The statement anticipated displacement of people due to floods, outbreaks of water-borne diseases and damages to infrastructure.
Idriss stated that the organisation had alerted its search-and-rescue team to ensure a prompt and efficient emergency response.
The D-G claimed that in order to achieve the best results, he had also ordered an update on the organisation’s flood preparedness.
He urged locals to heed the early warning and refrain from driving or wading through standing water while it was raining.
He also advised residents to clear all blocked drains, and to dial the 112 emergency toll-free number in the event of an emergency.
The ICIR reported that the FCT had a flood incident in June 2023 following a heavy downpour that aggravated a flood drowning many houses in an estate.
In the flood disaster, which had become a regular incident, 166 houses were submerged, as many residents were displaced from their homes. The ICIR captured it here and here.
Last year, flooding displaced 1.4 million people from their homes across the country, and more than 500 people were killed.
The Federal government blamed the catastrophe on a combination of extraordinary rainfall brought by climate change, and on too much water being released when the Lagdo dam in Cameroon was opened, which poured into the River Niger and its tributaries.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance