SAN FRANCISCO, September 16, (THEWILL) – The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned that there will be more flooding in the coming days due to the rising water levels in River Niger and Benue.
Niger, Edo, Jigawa, Anambra, and Bayelsa states were all hit by floods this week with about 70 deaths reported, hundreds of homes submerged, and thousands displaced.
However, the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja, has warned that the situation could get worse as water inflow into River Niger and River Benue is so huge that both rivers can only accommodate less than two meters of water before they will overflow their banks into nearby communities.
To prevent further loss of lives, the agency called for the evacuation of people living in communities on the floodplains.
On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari had delegated authority to the NEMA DG to declare a ‘national disaster’ if the anticipated flooding becomes a reality in parts of the country.
The President’s directive was contained in a letter entitled ‘Situation Report on the River Flood Along the Banks of Rivers Benue and Niger’, which was signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
It gave “Delegation of authority to the Director-General of NEMA to activate the Disaster Response Units of the military for possible search and rescue missions”.
The President also gave the NEMA DG authorisation for “the procurement and proportionate stocking of relief materials and health-related items up to N3billion to provide for the needs of possible victims.”
