Prof Mansur Bako Matazu, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has warned Nigerians to brace up for more rains in the next two months.
The NiMeT CEO stated this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday while speaking on flooding wreaking havoc across Nigeria in recent weeks.
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Daily Trust reported Monday that a three-year-old child died while his two-year-old sibling was critically injured following an early morning downpour that wreaked havoc on Bajoga town of Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State.
The rain that lasted for over five hours at the weekend resulted in heavy flooding that led to the collapse of one of the walls of the room where the two children were sleeping in ‘Unguwar Fada,’ near the Emir’s palace.
Several others who sustained various degrees of injury were receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Bajoga and other medical facilities.
The NiMeT CEO said the organisation had issued several advisories about flooding earlier to which Nigerians failed to adhere.
He added that Nigerians keep cutting down trees and dumping refuses in drainage channels.
Matazu said: “There will be increased rainfall intensity in the next two months or so. This is the most active period – July, August and September. We are going to see more floods.”
He called on people living in flood planes to evacuate immediately.
He added, “We are seeing a global concern especially as it relates to climate change and we are having localise factors.
“So, more floods are coming and we advise MDAs especially at states and local government levels to advise people living on flood planes and flood-prone areas to evacuate.”
The NiMeT CEO also stressed the need for Nigerians to take weather forecasts seriously.