8th September, 2022
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a national flood emergency preparedness and response plan in Nigeria.
Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management revealed this on Wednesday shortly after the FEC meeting in Abuja.
She urged all states and operational stakeholders to implement the plan in order to advance national development.
According to her, the plan would provide more resilience and effective response measures to mitigate the impact of flooding on Nigerians.
Approval for the National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan comes on the heels of reports about various deaths caused by flooding.
In the last eight months, the National Emergency Management Agency disclosed that flash floods in Nigeria have inundated 33 out of 36 states and the FCT.
These floods have, thereby, affected over 508,000 people, leading to about 372 deaths.
Speaking, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, the DG of NEMA, said, “In the last eight months, floods in Nigeria, mostly flash floods, have inundated 33 out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.”
“It affected over 508,000 people, resulting in about 372 deaths, 277 injured people, the destruction of about 37,633 houses, the loss of livestock and several farmlands having been submerged.”
“This is mostly in Adamawa, Jigawa, Taraba, Kano, Bauchi, Niger, Anambra, and Ebonyi states. These have been accompanied by other derivative disasters. “