ActionAid Nigeria has appealed to the Federal and State Governments, emergency management agencies and all concerned stakeholders to ensure that contingency plans and intervention on floods this year are commensurate with the level of impact.
The appeal is coming following the recent prediction of rains by Nimet.
It says government must ensure that its plans do not categorically include shutting down schools and health centres in affected states to serve as IDP camps as seen in 2022.
Within the last 11 years, annual flood have brought unquantifiable disasters in Nigeria.
Waters have in the rainy season, routine overflowed their banks, submerging hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.
This annual displacement of people from their communities and severe losses across Nigeria because of flood, is deepening poverty levels across the country.
Early this year, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency predicted a largely normal rainfall pattern, it indicated a high possibility of flash floods in some states.
ActionAid is concerned, bearing in mind the devastating impact of flood in 2022 where 1.4 million people across 31 States where affected, over 700,000 were displaced and an estimated 500 deaths recorded.
They want government’s intervention on flood this year to commensurate with the level of impact.
Nimet also calls for high vigilance on meningitis as there is anticipation there will be an outbreak in northeast part of the country.