The Nigeria Meteorological Agency said that states in the North-Central and South-East zones in Nigeria should expect more flooding.
The Director-General of NiMet, Prof. Mansur Matazu, made this known while speaking with journalists at the opening ceremony of the Hydro-Meteorological status and outlook system (hydrosos) workshop in Abuja on Tuesday.
Speaking on the current impact of flooding in the country, Matazu said the flooding was the result of rainfall which might have reached its peak, adding that it could also be the result of opening of dams and other water-holding facilities.
He said, “You remember, we issued the forecast in February and we followed up with the monthly updates that we are going to have above normal rainfall in most part of the country. So, in terms of the rainfall-induced floods, we have seen the peak but remember we told you that this rainwater gets collected into the reservoirs and dams, and whenever they are filled, it gets overflown.
He said presently the Lagdo Dam was released alongside other dams, noting that we would be experiencing riverine flooding which indicated more flooding especially in the North-Central and the southern states.
“So presently, on September 13, the lagdo dam was released, other dams were also released. So, what we are witnessing now is riverine flooding. And from the information we are getting, we are going to see more flood. And now the rains are concentrating on the North-Central and the southern states. So, that will be a combination of short duration, high intensity rain, with riverine flooding. We are going to see more of these floods in the North-Central states as we have seen in Kog State and also southeastern and southwestern states as we are beginning to see in Anambra and some of parts of South-West.”
The HydroSOS workshop, which was hosted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency in collaboration with the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency, with the total support of the United Kingdom Centre 7 for Ecology and Hydrology and World Meteorological Organisation, Matazu said, “it is no longer news to anyone here that water-related hazards and threats has become a global challenge in the face of a changing climate coupled with population growth and increasing socio-economic activities. Every year, water-related hazard affects millions of people globally and causes damages to property worth billions of dollars.”
He further said it was expected that water-associated risks were going to intensify in the coming years as the full weight of climate change began to bear on our earth, adding that in Africa, water-related hazards such as flood and drought had become a major cause of food insecurity, strains on livelihoods, health risks and conflicts in many parts of the continent.
He said, “Water-related challenges facing governments at all levels include securing water supplies, designing appropriate water governance schematic, sustaining the management of transboundary basins, managing flood and/or drought as well as ensuring the protection and conservation of our ecosystem. It has been observed that one of the major factors to effectively manage water resources and address some of the above challenges is the availability of hydrometeorological information and products targeted to serve the needs of the different sectors.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, represented by the Rector of the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, Capt. Abdulsalam Mohammed said the workshop was timely as it intended to address and proffer solutions to global challenges associated with Hydro-meteorological hazards, especially as it related to Africa, particularly Nigeria.
“This workshop is timely as it intends to address and proffer solutions to global challenges associated with Hydro-meteorological hazards (risks) especially as it relates to Africa and particularly Nigeria.
“Over the years, the management and distribution of water resources as well as mitigation of water-related hazards and disasters have been challenging for government at all levels, globally. Sometimes, this may be attributed to deficiency of hydrometeorological information during planning in times past exacerbated by the impacts of changing climate,” he said.
He, however, said that as a result these shortfalls, water managers and stakeholders could not properly access the availability of water resources on different spatio-temporal scales.
“The deficiency of information can be linked to insufficient local-scale data, a lack of regional to global coherence in hydrological information and modelling systems.”
“As a result of these shortfalls, water managers and stakeholders cannot properly access the availability of water resources on different spatio-temporal scales. Thus, the need to have hydrological information and products that are impact-based, demand-driven and users specific,” he added.
The PUNCH
