31 states and the FCT have been gravely impacted by the 2022 floods, affecting over 1.4 million people, with about 500 deaths recorded.
This year’s floods so far have been marked the worst the country has ever witnessed.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development says it plans to adopt the recently approved National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan to mitigate the effects of the flood disaster.
The impact of the flood across the country is already biting really hard.
The Lokoja bridge, which is the link road between the North and the South has been flooded, making commuting between both regions difficult.
This has greatly affected trade as exchange of goods between the North and the South is now an herculean task.
It has also resulted in long queues in fuel stations in Abuja and beyond since fuel laden trailers have been unable to discharge fuel to the depot and Fuel stations in the FCT.
While people are still groaning under this discomfort, the flood has wrought even worse disasters in some other States and communities
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of humanitarian affairs briefs journalists on the issues of the flood
He says already, 790,254 people are displaced and been moved out of their locations, 1,546 persons among the displaced were injured
He says the National Emergency Management Agency have been able to provided relief materials to support over 315,000 of the displaced persons
Worse still are the farmlands affected by the floods, this may result in food insecurity in the year to come.
The Permanent Secretary says the economic loss cannot be ascertained as the rains are not yet over but an assessment of loss to farmlands, poultry facilities, livestock and fisheries is ongoing
Many at this briefing wonder why Nigeria always waits for these flood disasters to happen before actions are taken.
But the Perm sec corrects this notion insisting states were already pre warned about the impending floods
He assured that the government is making all efforts to mitigate the impact but would need public support to achieve this
The impact of climate change is the responsibility of all citizens in order to manage its impact on their lives.
