ABUJA – THE Federal Government said yesterday no fewer than 21 local government areas in 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have been submerged by flood as a result of torrential rainfall in the past few days.
The minister said: “It should be noted that some states have started experiencing varying levels of flooding and its associated disasters as early as April this year. So far, more than 10 states of the federation and the FCT have experienced one degree of flooding or the other, with several casualties recorded, including displacement of people and loss of property.
“According to the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, the cholera outbreak has resulted in 63 deaths and 2,102 suspected cases as of Wednesday, July 3, 2024. ‘’The country is at the lowest portion of the basin. This means that once the upper catchment of the Basin gets flooded, Nigeria should be prepared to experience flooding incidents.
‘’The flow situation at Wuroboki is relatively normal at this time, so there is no cause for alarm in terms of water releases on the Benue River basin. “Clearing of blocked drainage systems and canals: This exercise is to be undertaken down to grassroots levels, including local government areas; relocation of people living along water-ways and those that are having socio-economic activities on the flood plains by the federal, state and local governments; consideration for channelization/training of major rivers in the country; states and local governments are encouraged to desilt river channels and canals and to construct/create buffer in...
Others are Ihiala, Ogbaru, Onitsha North and Onitsha South, which she said were under high and moderate risk of flooding, based on the seasonal climatic prediction and annual flood outlook released by relevant agencies for the year.