PREPARING FOR THE RAINS
All stakeholders should take practical measures to minimise impact of floods
The 2026 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) does not look good for about 14,118 communities across 266 local government areas in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). According to the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), these communities are at high risk of flooding in the next couple of weeks. Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss, and they have caused untold damage in the last couple of years. We implore all the relevant authorities to take the reports seriously. The focus should be on pre-emptive intervention programmes. Little is gained when resources that should be put into developmental initiatives are dissipated in dealing with avoidable emergencies and calamities.
According to the Director General of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Joseph Onoja, “evidence points more clearly to greater intensity of extreme rainfall, and in many places also to more frequent damaging flood episodes.” For Lagos specifically, a World Bank-linked flood risk note reports a rise in both high-intensity short-duration and low-intensity long-duration rainfall events, while pluvial or urban flooding has become more widespread. The Lagos Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan indicates that 165 square kilometres across 14 local government areas could be affected, threatening 82 per cent of wetlands if the risks are not well managed. All relevant stakeholders must therefore kickstart their adaptation strategies, as they have little time for mitigation measures.
Nigeria’s national and city-level outlook already predicts a combination of intense rainfall, river flooding, urban flooding, and coastal flooding over the next two decades. To help identify and solve climate-related issues, the federal government in 2024 produced what it called ‘Nigeria Risk Analysis,’ a project of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in partnership with UNICEF. Some of their recommendations include strengthening and expanding flood early warning systems across vulnerable states, ensuring timely and accurate dissemination of alerts to at-risk communities. They also recommend investing in flood-resistant infrastructure, including drainage systems, dams, and flood defenses, particularly in flood-prone areas like riverine and coastal regions.
Other recommendations include enforcing urban planning regulations and building codes to reduce the impact of flooding, especially in unplanned settlements and rapidly urbanising areas; engaging communities in flood risk management through awareness campaigns, training programmes, and the establishment of Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs). Fostering collaboration between government agencies, NGOs, and the private sector to ensure coordinated flood response efforts, resource mobilisation, and efficient disaster management. And expanding social protection programmes and humanitarian assistance for flood-affected communities, including cash transfers, food aid, and access to essential services like healthcare and education.
We urge government officials, at all levels, to update and advise on vulnerable areas, what needs to be done, and the reasonable timeframe for meaningful pre-emptive action. Blocked drains, especially in areas where flood waters easily accumulate and generate a strong force, should be cleared, and subsequently kept free. For a country where consecutive years of flooding, loss of farm produce and a lackadaisical attitude by the authorities have contributed to the challenge of food insecurity, we must take all the warnings much more seriously. These losses that traditionally occur during the peak of the rain season are detrimental to the country’s economy, and the wellbeing of our people.
In recent years, floods have displaced several million Nigerians with rural dwellers losing farmlands, livestock and their means of livelihood. In many states, local economies have collapsed, while the interventions designed to ameliorate the suffering of those affected have made little or no impact whatsoever. Authorities in the 36 states therefore have enough time to prepare adequate measures against the elements to avert another tragedy.
