By UDORA ORIZU

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) Wednesday advised Nigerians residing at waterways to relocate to safe areas before the peak of the rains.

The Director General of the agency, Mr. Clement Nze, who gave the advice while addressing the press in Abuja, warned that Nigerians have about three months to prepare against the disastrous effects of the flood.

He explained that the country’s geographical location is downstream of all the countries in the Basin, making it to be at the receiving end of disastrous flood and pollutions from all the countries upstream.

The DG lamented that relevant authorities are frustrating the effort of the federal government by neglecting the predictions, as could be seen in the results of last year’s damages.

Nze, while urging the general public to take necessary measures to prevent the ugly flooding menace of the past years, noted that there is still time for stakeholders to take steps to avert or minimise the disastrous effects of flood in 2021.

He said: ”According to the 2021 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) recently released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the earliest onset date is 1st March, along the coastline of the country, while the latest onset date is 29th June in the northern most part of the country. The earliest cessation date for rainfall would be around 9th October in Katsina and northern part of Sokoto, while latest cessation date is expected on 25th December over Niger Delta region.

”The persistent flooding and flood disasters have become an annual event in Nigeria since the 2012 when the country experienced her worst flood disaster in the recent history. It could be recalled that hundred of lives were lost, thousands of citizens rendered homeless with property losses running into trillions of naira. The raining season is fast approaching and the remaining days of the dry season is the best time to prepare against flooding so as to avoid the past reoccurrence.” (THISDAY)

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