The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has sounded the alarm over an imminent risk of severe flooding in Rivers State and 11 other states across Nigeria.
Speaking during the launch of a multi-stakeholder engagement in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar highlighted the need for urgent and coordinated preparedness. She was represented by Dr. Godwin Tepiko, Director of NEMA’s South-South Zonal Directorate.
Umar’s warning was based on the 2025 flood forecast by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), which predicted significant flooding in four local government areas of Rivers State: Ahoada West, Ahoada East, Andoni, and Opobo/Nkoro.
In response, NEMA launched its National Preparedness and Response Campaign (NPRC) to reduce the anticipated impact.
“The devastating impacts of annual floods in Nigeria necessitate collaboration among all tiers of government, development partners, the private sector, media, and citizens to manage disaster risks and build national resilience,” she stated.
Umar stressed that previous floods had resulted in the loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure worth billions of naira. Many Nigerians have also suffered physical injuries and financial ruin due to repeated unmitigated flooding.
She noted that early warning systems enabled NEMA to assess disaster risks tied to the forecast and develop targeted mitigation strategies.
“We’ve developed vulnerability maps to guide federal, state, and local authorities in implementing effective risk reduction measures,” she added.
Key risk factors highlighted by the forecast include:
- Delayed onset and early cessation of rainfall
- Above-normal precipitation
- Prolonged dry spells
These factors are expected to severely affect several socio-economic sectors including health, agriculture, transportation, education, security, and environmental management.
As part of its proactive response, NEMA has implemented several measures, such as:
- Capacity building for local emergency responders
- Simulation exercises
- Pre-positioning of emergency supplies
- Promoting rainfall-aligned planting, irrigation planning, and livestock vaccination
- Desilting of drainages
- Conducting infrastructure integrity tests
- Developing evacuation plans
- Enhancing surveillance and security in high-risk areas
Umar also announced the deployment of field officers, in collaboration with state and local emergency agencies and volunteers, to deliver early warning messages directly to vulnerable communities.
She urged residents in flood-prone areas to begin preparation immediately, warning against a repeat of past unpreparedness.
In addition, she called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth and women groups, and the media to actively support awareness and mitigation efforts.
The Director of the Centre for Disaster Risk Management and Development Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Daniel Mbee commended NEMA’s proactive approach and called for wider stakeholder inclusion.
“The inclusion of more stakeholders is critical, given the scale of the forecasted flooding, which could displace entire communities and destroy infrastructure,” Mbee said.
He urged the government to treat the warning with urgency and promote broad participation in disaster prevention.
Participating organisations at the engagement included the Ministry of Health, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Police, NSCDC, FRSC, Red Cross, civil society organisations, local government representatives, and vulnerable communities.
NAN
