THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has revealed that over 259 people have lost their lives, and more than 600,000 others have been displaced by severe floods across Nigeria in 2024.
According to NEMA, the widespread flooding has affected multiple states, with farmlands, homes, leaving many communities in crisis.
The director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, disclosed this during the National Emergency Coordination Forum on Thursday, September 11.
She also noted that the current trend indicated that 29 states and 172 LGAs have been impacted by flooding with 1,048,312 people affected.
She said, “The current trend of flooding indicated that 29 States and 172 LGAs have been impacted by flooding, affecting 1,048,312 people, displaced 625,239 and have led to the death of 259 lives.”
According to her, the ongoing flooding in different parts of the country had been predicted in the Annual Flood Outlook issued by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency.
She stated that the report indicated that from July to September 2024, 33 states and 135 Local Government Areas were identified as high-risk flood zones, while 19 states and 44 LGAs face similar risks between October and November.
The ICIR reports that despite the alert raised by Nimet and NEMA, floods have continued to wreak havoc in some states, with many houses, farmlands submerged and crops destroyed.
The flood crisis in Maiduguri has left residents of the northeast state panicking and The ICIR earlier reported that the Maiduguri Zoo, popularly referred to as Sanda Kyarimi Park located in the city centre has been overtaken by water and animals released have caused fear among the residents.
Speaking on the emergency response, the NEMA boss said, “As part of on-going efforts, Internally Displaced Persons camps have been activated in some States; additional staff have been deployed to support Search and Rescue operations; water purification and critical search and rescue equipment have been deployed to affected states; while food and non food items are also being provided to support the affected persons.”
“To complement these efforts, plans are underway to: provide additional relief intervention including medical consumables and medicaments; deploy additional water purifiers; support States to evacuate people at risk; provide additional support to Naval Disaster Response Units; provide additional support for sectoral response; relocate and rehabilitate the displaced population and to carry out in- depth Damage and Loss assessment among others.
“While appreciating the support of our international partners, it is important to note that the situation is not yet overwhelming for the Government of Nigeria to cope with. We however encourage partners to continue to carry out their routine assistance to affected people while still monitoring the situation,” she added.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate evacuation of those affected by the flood in Maiduguri, Borno state.
The president on Tuesday, September 10 expressed concern over the flooding in parts of the state while ordering the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assist the flood victims.
In a statement issued by his special adviser on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the president described the disaster as the “worst flood in recent decades.”
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M