By Chris Onuoha
Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA has issued a strong warning over imminent flood threat that will affect some flood prone areas in Nigeria, warning the zones to take precautionary measures to avoid disaster.
This also came as the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has activated its zonal directorates and operations offices across 15 States in Nigeria following a high-risk flood alert issued by NIHSA.
Data check from the Hydrological Agency report indicates that rising river levels in Imo, Cross River, Ebonyi, Benue, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Kogi, Taraba, Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu and Abia states has heightened the risk of riverine flooding within these corridors.
However, a flood advisory by NIHSA warning of increased riverine flooding as river levels continue to rise in the affected areas, enacted a directive from NEMA Director-General, Mrs Zubaida Umar, to the agency’s offices covering the affected States to immediately activate existing emergency preparedness mechanisms and remain on standby for possible response operations.
NEMA, the agency responsible for controlling disaster in the country also, urged residents living in floodplains, riverbanks, low-lying communities and other flood-prone locations to take the warning seriously and relocate to safe and higher ground to avoid being caught off by the imminent disaster.
The NEMA director-general stressed that early action remained critical to reducing the potential impact of flooding on lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure.
She urged communities to cooperate with emergency management authorities and comply promptly with evacuation advisories whenever they are issued.
Umar also warned residents against attempting to cross flooded roads, bridges and fast-moving waters, either on foot or in vehicles, saying such actions could expose them to avoidable danger.
Meantime, you may recall that flood disaster and it’s devastating consequences has always ravaged the listed zones because of the low-lying nature of their plain. Many lives are lost including properties, farm produce and livestock.
In Lagos alone, it appears as a routine occurrence stemming from large population in the zone. Cities like Lagos Island, Lekki-Aja, Ikorodu, Epe and communities within the lagoon bay are highly affected. The Commissioner for Environment, has also issued warnings for residents in these areas to relocate to plain areas for safety.
But the irony is that, for a city like Lagos with huge population and surmounting environmental challenges, who provides the space? Is it possible to harbour relief persons at a designated location for this purpose, and how long?
An environmental activist, in a chat with Newsnow.africa correspondent said that Lagos should do more in preventing property developers within flood plain areas to erect residential buildings. He advised the State to apply stringent measures backed by law to stop or genuinely prosecute errant developers, than issuing regular warnings in every seasonal occurrence.
According to the environmentalist who chose to remain anonymous, he said that riverbank communities in the rural areas facing such challenges are quite understandable, with claims to ancestral land, but can conveniently relocate to other areas to keep safe till the tide wanes.
He stressed the need for government to be proactive and intentional in handling environmental matters, than cry foul all the time, adding that issues live natural disaster or environmental degradation should not be tools for politics.
