The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned communities along the River Niger to begin evacuation immediately to safer ground over the impending floods that may occur at any moment from now.
Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, said the warning is as a result of the alerts the agency received from authorities in the Republic of Niger.
He said the information they got was that the present water level in the river had reached a point that may result in flood that could be compared with the unfortunate experience of 2012.
“Niger Basin Authority (NBA) notified Nigeria that the rainy season, which started in the Middle Niger (Burkina Faso and Niger Republic) in June 2016, has led to a gradual rise of the level of River Niger in Niamey, Niger Republic.
“This high level of water in Niger Republic is already spreading to Benin Republic, and invariably, to Nigeria,” the Customs boss said.
He further said that the level of water in all the hydrological monitoring stations across the country, as at Friday, 5th August, 2016, had already exceeded the corresponding values at that time, which was an alarming situation that required the prompt and coordinated action of all governments and stakeholders.
According to the DG; “If the heavy rainfall continues in intensity and duration within these regions of the River Niger, it is imminent that flood situation similar to that of the year 2012 may occur.”
