In 9ja: NIHSA Reports: 31 States will Experience Devastating Flood in 2013...

John Ayoade SHAMONDA & Water submerged settlement

The Director General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), John Ayoade Shamonda in a presentation of the 2013 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) for Nigeria reported that all states in Nigeria will experience a devastating flood this year apart from Ekiti, Enugu, Katsina, Imo, Abia States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The states that will be affected are Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, Rivers, Taraba, Plateau, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Niger, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kwara,  Kogi, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Gombe, Edo, Ebonyi, Delta, Cross Rivers, Benue, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Borno, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and Adamawa.

The DG, speaking after a three-day programme on the flood outlook, organised by the NIHSA, said efforts were being geared towards ensuring that the effect was less felt in these areas.

In His words:-“Floods and associated hazards may be inevitable, but they can be minimised and turned into an opportunity to transform society into a higher level of sustainability. This requires pro-activeness and a change of paradigm from emergency management to flood risk management in order to avert a disaster," he said.

The DG said his agency came to the conclusion of the flood forecast based on the earlier report by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), which led his team to assess flood outlook that came out with the report.

He said: “The 2012 NIMET SRP drew the attention to high rainfall which led to devastating floods across Nigeria. NIMET’s 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP)   has again indicated that high rainfalls are to be expected in some parts of the country in 2013. In response to this prediction, the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency set up a Technical Committee to assess the Flood Outlook for 2013 in Nigeria.

“In the absence of a reliable model adapted for flood forecasting for the country, the committee adopted simple empirical techniques of relating flood factors referenced to 2012 data and flood extent in combination with spatial analysis using our own method to assess the flood outlook for 2013 based on NIMET’s 2013 SRP data.

“The analysis of deviation in annual rainfall and length of season, together with 2012 flow discharges observed at selected stations led to the outlook of greater flooding scenario across the country than occurred in 2012. A digital map of the country showing the spatial extent of flooding to be expected in 2013 is a major output of the assessment.”

HBC: I just hope the Government will not take this warning for granted this time around.