By Victor Nwachukwu
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that 1,243,638 Nigerians were displaced by floods in 2024, resulting in 1,237 fatalities.
The Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, said this at a stakeholder’s engagement on national disaster preparedness and response campaign 2025, held in Owerri yesterday.
Umar, represented by NEMA’s Head of Partnership and Collaboration, Mr Evan Niko, stated that the floods, which affected a total of 5,264,097 persons, also impacted 1,439,296 farmlands and resulted in 16,469 persons being injured.
Speaking on the theme “Strengthening Resilience, Enhancing Preparedness and Response,” Umar called for more attention to grassroots efforts to save lives and build communal resilience across Nigeria.
She stated that NEMA had developed climate-related risk implications, preparedness, mitigation, and response actions to mitigate the potential impacts of the 2025 floods based on predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency.
“We have embarked on various activities aimed at preventing and mitigating the expected impacts of the disaster to remind stakeholders about their responsibilities in flood disaster management.
“Today’s downscaling exercise of the 2025 seasonal climate prediction is further aimed at acquainting major emergency management stakeholders about the predictions and what is expected of them to mitigate the expected impacts of the disaster,” he said.
Speaking, a Principal Relief Officer with NEMA, Mr Michael Ajide, described Imo as “one of the high-risk states of flooding”, with Oguta and Ohaji-Egbema LGAs topping the charts.
He urged governments at all levels to invest in drainage and dam infrastructure to encourage flood-resilient planning in riverine zones.
Also speaking, NEMA’s Head of Operations for Abia and Imo, Mr Nnamdi Igwe, called for the use of remote sensing for flood mapping, the rehabilitation of local drainage systems, and the strengthening of community liaison desks to facilitate communication and prevent disasters.
Mr Ekene Ahaneku, a Healthcare Officer with the Nigerian Red Cross Society, called for more collaborations with state emergency management agencies to decentralise relief efforts and achieve optimal outcomes.
The Deputy Chairman of the Imo Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Fred Nwachukwu, however, expressed readiness to effectively implement strategies for better governance outcomes at the grassroots level.
