Specifically in the North Central, South East, and South Western States, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) have issued flood warnings for select states.
At the workshop on hydro-meteorological status and outlook system’s opening ceremony, Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu, director general of NiMet, and Mr. Clement Nze, director general of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), both confirmed this (HydroSOS).
Matazu predicted that there will be an increase in flooding due to heavy rainfall and the opening of the dams.
He said;
“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 part of the country. So in terms of the rainfall induced floods, we’ve 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 spilled. So, on the13th of September, the Lagbo Dam was released. And also Kainji and Shiroro dams were also were released. So what we’re witnessing now is riverine flooding.
“And from the information we’re getting from NIHSA we’re going to see more floods. And now the rain is concentrating on the North Central and the southern states. So that will be a combination of short duration, high intensity rain, which riverine flooding. So we’re going to see more of these floods in the north central states as we are seeing in Kogi and also south eastern and southwestern states as we are beginning to see in a number of parts of South West.
“In Africa, water-related hazards such as flood, drought etc has become a major cause of food insecurity, strains on livelihoods, health risks and conflicts in many parts of the continent.”
In addition, Matazu said that people who built on flood plains and the rising water levels in the Rivers Niger and Benue have made the flooding much worse. He emphasized that rainfall, not released dams, was the main cause of the flooding that occurred.
