The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has raised concerns about the growing threat of flooding across the country.
According to the Agency, Kogi and 27 other states are expected to experience significant flooding over the next 15 days, a scenario that could pose serious risks to lives, sources of livelihoods, and critical infrastructure.
The warning comes as Nigeria enters the peak of its rainy season, a period often marked by rising water levels, flash floods, and widespread displacement people living in flood-prone communities.
In response, Renaissance Care and Empowerment Foundation, RECEF Nigeria, a humanitarian response and community resilience organization, has activated its emergency operations desk to begin preparations for potential intervention in high-risk areas.
According to a statement released by the organization, teams are already working on logistics, partnerships, and rapid response strategies, informed by lessons learned during similar crises in 2018 and 2022.
The organization is also calling on local and national emergency agencies to treat the warning with the urgency it deserves with emphasis on State Emergency Management Agencies which are expected to play a frontline role in coordinating preparedness and response at the sub-national level.
RECEF urges stakeholders to begin relocating populations that are at risk, reinforce critical infrastructure, and pre-position relief materials ahead of possible evacuations.
It will be recalled that the Executive Secretary of Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mouktar Atimah while speaking on TalkTime on LugardTV on the level preparedness by the state following the adverse weather predictions disclosed that Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps across flood-prone communities are fully prepared to receive potential victims ahead of projected heavy rainfall.
He informed LugardTV that the Agency, along with its partners and stakeholders in the state is setting up an Emery Operations Centre to enhance coordination of emergency response efforts by the state government.
He also noted that the agency, in anticipation of likely displacement caused by flooding, has intensified sensitization campaigns in riverine and flood-prone communities, especially those along the banks of the River Niger and Benue.
