By Adedapo Adesanya
To avoid the unprecedented flood experienced across the country last year, the federal government has disclosed preventive measures to open up blocked channels.
The Director General of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr George Moghalu, made this disclosure after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The NIWA boss explained that the agency was carrying out massive sensitization of the possible flood-prone areas as efforts are ongoing to ensure that rivers Niger and Benue are made navigable for vessels to have access to other ports being developed.
It will be recalled that in 2022, Nigeria experienced what was described as the worst flood disaster in a decade, as over 1.4 million people were displaced, 3,181 persons were injured, over 660 persons were killed, and about 82,035 houses were damaged.
A total of 4,476,867 persons were also affected by the flood, 2,437,411 persons were displaced, about 944,989 farmlands were damaged, and 355,986 houses were partially or totally destroyed by floods.
According to a United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) report in 2022, more than 2.5 million people in Nigeria needed humanitarian assistance, of which 60 per cent were children, who were also at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning, and malnutrition due to the most severe flooding witnessed by Nigeria in the past decade.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) recently warned that there is a high risk of coastal flooding due to the expected rise in sea level and tidal surge that may negatively impact agriculture, human settlements and transportation in Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos and Rivers States.
The 2023 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) revealed that a total of 66 Local Government Areas (LGAs) are at high flood risk in the months of April to June, 148 LGAs in July to September, and 100 LGAs in the months of October and November.
In addition, a total of 41 LGAs fall within the moderate flood risk areas in the months of April to June, 199 LGAs in the months of July to September and 72 LGAs in the months of October and November.
