The agency issued the flood alert on Thursday, following the rising river levels and persistent rainfall across the country.
The agency’s Director General, Umar Ibrahim, cautioned of high to very high flood risks between August 7 and August 21.
The affected states according to the alert include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, FCT, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, and Nasarawa.
Others are Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
Similarly a total of 198 LGAs and 832 communities fall within the projected flood impact zone, NiHSA said
“Possible disruption of major transportation routes is anticipated,” NIHSA stated, citing data from its colour-coded flood risk map.
The agency urged emergency management stakeholders to activate their response protocols and advised that evacuation plans be put in place for communities at risk.
It also encouraged residents and stakeholders to follow its weekly state-level and community-specific forecasts and to stay informed via the NIHSA flood dashboard and official social media platforms.
The alert is part of NIHSA’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the growing impact of seasonal flooding, which continues to displace thousands and damage infrastructure annually.
It will be recalled that the Lagos State Government had earlier issued advisory, warning residents in parts of Lekki, Ikorodu and Ajegunle areas of the state to relocate from lowlands to highlands to avoid being victims of flooding.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab issued the advisory on Tuesday while featuring on
Channels Television’s Politics Today programme
“Those around the Ajilete axis of Lagos, that’s Ajegunle, they have to move.
Those around the coastline of Ikorodu; Majidu, have to move. Some areas around the Lekki corridor, too, not all"
“Epe had always been safe, Mushin will be safe, Ikeja will be safe,” the environment commissioner stated, warning residents of Isheri in the OPIC area of the state to also be on alert," he stated
Wahab said Lagos, as a coastal city, is exposed to the vagaries of climate change and will experience flash flooding this year.
The official said, based on predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Lagos would experience much more rain this year than last year.
“For those who stay in the lowland of Lagos, they have to move to the upland pending when the rain recedes,” he said.
Some communities in Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, were flooded on Monday after marathon rainfall that started Sunday night and thundered on, uninterrupted till Monday evening.
Viral videos showed submerged houses and vehicles in parts of the state as residents delicately navigated pool-like streets and roads, which overflowed from clogged drainage channels and canals. The environmental situation paralysed trade and economic activities in the nation’s commercial hub.
However, Wahab sued for calm, and assured residents of the state that the government has been on top of the matter, clearing drainage channels and expanding flood paths to mitigate the impact of nature.
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