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At least 3.2 million Nigerians are at risk of displacement as the rainy season intensifies in 2024, the International Organisation for Migration warns.
The prediction is part of the IOM’s Nigeria Response Overview Disaster Preparedness Plan, issued in response to the country’s growing threat of climate-induced disaster.
According to the report, an estimated $12.95m will be needed for shelter and settlements for the most vulnerable populations from January – December 2024.
“The funds would be used for immediate rescue missions and longer-term resettlement and rehabilitation initiatives,” the IOM said.
In 2022, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, suffered its worst flood in decades. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, the floods affected 3.2 million people, including 1.9 million children.
In October of that year, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development revealed that floods displaced over 1.4 million people, killed over 603 people, and injured more than 2,400 people.
Also, over 82,035 houses were damaged, and 676,000 hectares of farmlands were affected.
700,000 displaced persons were in the southern state of Bayelsa, where floods submerged about 300 communities.
Jigawa State, in the North-West, was the worst-hit of the 34 affected states, with over 257 health facilities and schools destroyed between August and November 2022.
The floods affected roads, bridges and settlements such as Auyo through Kafin Hausa and some parts of Miga, Jahun, Kiyawa, Dutse and Birnin Kudu Local Government Areas.
In its Annual Flood Outlook for 2024, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency identified 148 LGAs in 31 states as being at high risk of flooding.
The outlook categorised 249 LGAs in 35 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, as “moderate flood-risk areas.”
It spread the flood risk across different periods, with the highest risks expected from April through November.
The NIHSA said coastal and riverine areas, particularly in states like Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos and Rivers, are particularly vulnerable to flooding due to sea-level rise and tidal surges.
As rainfall intensify in August, the IOM said it is “preparing to implement a set of early actions to improve the preparedness and response capacities of government authorities and community members as well as strengthen the coping mechanisms.”
It says although the Nigerian government “has been making efforts to improve disaster preparedness, such as setting up early warning systems and strengthening the capacity of local communities to respond to such calamities, these initiatives often fall short due to limited resources and the sheer scale of the challenge.”
On its part, the National Emergency Management Agency emphasised the need for proactive measures to mitigate the impact of these floods.
It recommended community sensitisation, clearing of waterways, monitoring dam discharges, and relocating communities in flood-prone areas.
NEMA said it had begun implementing a series of steps in its Risk Management and Mitigation Strategy, which was developed early in 2023 to curtail a repeat of the 2022 crisis.
This includes “a series of engagements to bring all the stakeholders to their role,” NEMA’s Information Officer, Manzo Ezekiel, told Sunday PUNCH in an earlier interview.
He said, “Flooding, just like any other disaster, is multisectoral, multi-agency and multi-level in government; that is, it has components involving the federal, state and local communities with their own roles.
“We are following our current risk management and mitigation strategies, starting with media engagements where we run a series of flood jingles to raise awareness. And gladly, we’ve seen a lot of positive responses from these.”
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