No fewer than 28 states are likely to experience severe flooding this year, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu announced on Thursday.

Adamu dropped the hint at the public presentation of the 2021 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.

He listed the states to include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, FCT, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Kebbi.

Others are Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara States.

The minister noted that the 2012 flood brought about massive destruction of lives and properties across the country.

This, he noted, necessitated the putting in place of proper mechanism to prepare Nigerians to confront the disaster whenever it occurred.

According to him, the NIHSA forecasts have increased the awareness among the citizenry and led to taking measures to prevent severe flood damage.

“This year, we will be grappling with the two threats of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the impending floods as predicted in the AFO.

“The flood projections show varying severity across parts of the country.

“In summary, the 2021 AFO forecast indicates that 302 local government areas in 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will fall within the moderate probable flood risk areas.

“It is expected from the forecast that 121 local government areas in 28 states will fall within the highly probable risk areas.

“The states surrounding Rivers Niger and Benue are, without doubt, going to experience severe flooding.

“Floods come with attendant health risks through the contamination of potable water sources. The 2021 flooding will be exacerbated by the continuing ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)

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