ALERT: 4 Niger councils face impending floods – NEMA

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Niger State has again alerted four Local Government Areas of impending floods.

Hajiya Zainab Sa’idu, Head, NEMA, Minna Operations Office, who gave the warning in a statement in Minna on Thursday, said the areas are, Mokwa, Shiroro, Lavun and Borgu.

She urged residents of those areas to beware of impending floods in this season.

Sa’idu said the aforementioned local governments are expected to experience high floods between July and Nov.

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She said the warning was coming as a result of the Annual Flood Outlook released by the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA), where the council areas were identified as high flood-risk areas.

Sa`idu said that other local government areas like Edati, Gbako, Wushishi, Rafi, Mashegu, Magama, and Agwara might also experience high levels of flood between July and Nov.

She said the state had started experiencing floods and windstorms in these areas and called on the people to take serious precautions to avoid losses.

Sa’idu urged residents of the areas to ensure that drainages were kept clean to avoid blockage of waterways and channels and advised those living on flood plains and river banks to relocate to higher grounds.

She said there were indications that water levels along the river Niger were rising, which will raise water levels along its tributaries leading to an overflow of water in settlements around the rivers.

She said that the agency would continue to sensitise Nigerians on flood disasters, and appealed to the people to heed the warnings so as to save lives and property. (NAN)