The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) says 1,249
communities in 30 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) are at
high-risk of flooding.
The agency added that 2,187 communities in 293 LGAs fall
within the moderate flood risk states.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday during the unveiling of the
2025 annual flood outlook, Joseph Utsev, minister of water resources and
sanitation, said flooding remains one of the worst natural disasters in
Nigeria, with climate change accelerating its frequency.
Utsev noted that Abia, Benue, Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers, and
Jigawa, among others are key states expected to experience severe flooding.
He said the agency also unveiled its community-based
predicting initiative to provide location-specific and community-focused
forecasts across the country.
“1,249 communities in 176 local government areas LGAs across
30 states and the FCT fall within high-risk flood zones this year, while an
additional 2,187 communities in 293 LGAs face moderate flood risks,” Utsev
said.
“As part of this year’s Annual Flood Outlook AFO, NIHSA
adopted a new and effective approach to flood forecasting mechanism to ensure
that critical risk information is clearly understood and actionable for
vulnerable communities.
“Recognizing that early warning is only impactful when
properly communicated, the flood prediction has been refined to provide not
only seasonal and monthly forecasts, but location-specific and
community-focused forecasts.”
The minister also announced the rollout of several projects
including the national flood insurance programme (NFIP) — a first-of-its-kind
insurance plan to protect vulnerable households, farmlands, and livestock —
with Kogi and Jigawa as its pilot states.
Others are the integrated climate resilience innovation
project (I-CRIP) aimed at improving food security, energy production, and water
resource use through climate-smart strategies, and the NigerFLOOD Project — for
flood control and river management among others.
In 2024, flooding claimed 321 lives, affected over 1.37
million people, and displaced more than 740,000 across Nigeria.
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