North-Central, South-East states will experience more flooding – NiMet

The devastation witnessed in the some states due to flooding may not have ended as the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has said states in the North-Central and South-East zones should expect more floods.

Director-General of NiMet, Prof. Mansur Matazu, stated this on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ongoing Hydro-Meteorological Status and Outlook System (HydroSOS) in Abuja.

He spoke on the current flooding across the country in which people lost their lives, many houses were submarged, farmlands and businesses ruined, noting that the situation was a result of the opening of dams and other water-holding facilities, which would still affect states in North-Central and South-East.

He said, “You remember we issued the forecast in February and we followed up with the monthly updates that we’re going to have above normal rainfall in most parts of the country. So in terms of the rainfall-induced floods, we have seen the peak but remember we told you that this rainwater gets collected into the reservoirs and dams, and whenever they are filled, it gets filled.

“So presently 13th of September, the lagoon dam was released. Other dams were also released. So, what we are witnessing now is riverine flooding. And from the information we are getting, we are going to see more floods. And now the rains are concentrating on the North-Central and the southern states. So, that will be a combination of short duration, high intensity rain, with riverine flooding. We are going to see more of these floods in the North-Central states as we have seen in Kogi and also south eastern and south western states as we are beginning to see in Anambra and some of parts of South-West.”

The NiMET DG also commented on the HydroSOS workshop hosted by the agency in collaboration with the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) with the total support of the United Kingdom Centre 7 for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

He said, “it is no longer news to anyone here that water-related hazards and threats have become a global challenge in the face of a changing climate coupled with population growth and increasing socio-economic activities.

“Every year, water-related hazard affects millions of people globally and cause damages to properties worth billions of Dollars. It is expected that water-associated risks are going to intensify in the coming years as the full weight of climate change begin to bear on our earth.

“In Africa, water-related hazards such as flood and drought have become a major cause of food insecurity, strains on livelihoods, health risks and conflicts in many parts of the continent.

“Water-related challenges facing governments at all levels include securing water supplies, designing appropriate water governance schematic, sustaining the management of transboundary basins, managing flood and/or drought as well as ensuring the protection and conservation of our ecosystem. It has been observed that one of the major factors to effectively manage water resources and address some of the above challenges is the availability of hydrometeorological information and products targeted to serve the needs of the different sectors.”