Under the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has launched the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook under the theme ‘Promoting the Use of Data Analytics and Modelling for Flood Risk Assessments and Food Security’.
The public presentation was held today 16th April 2024 at the West African College of Physicians Gudu in Abuja. The event was graced by several dignitaries from related ministries and agencies, including the Honorable Minister, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Joseph Terlumum Utsev.
The Honorable Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Muhammed Goronyo, the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, representative of the World Metrological Organization (WMO), Dr. Benard Gomez, representative of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Vincent Weli, and the representative of the National Space and Research Development Agency, Mr. Ernest Afogbon, among others were present at the event.
Bello Muhammed Goronyo, the Honorable Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation who gave the welcoming speech stressed the overall objective of the event. He emphasized the essence of flood sensitization in order to mitigate the towering threat that has been the recent national monster.
“It is to sensitize the nation, particularly planners, decision and policymakers, farmers, stakeholders, and the general public on the need to embark on the mitigation measures to improve on safety and reduce potential damages to lives and property from floods…”, he stated.
According to the Engr. Joseph Utsev, the Honorable Minister, in order to effectively manage and reduce flood risk, the Annual Flood Outlook is intended to offer likely flood scenarios for the year and to distribute the information to every corner of the nation, especially the flood probe regions.
The Hon. Minister whose address speech was the highlight of the event, noted that “Flood has been the most frequent natural disaster in Nigeria, with devastating impacts on the poor and the vulnerable population who are dependent on the productivity of the river ecosystem and fertile floodplains….”
To this end, the Honorable Minister that flood forecasting and flood early warning are among the most effective flood risk management strategies to reduce the negative effects of floods on lives and property.
He further gave a highlight of the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook which contained the 148 Local Government Areas in the states of the Federation which fell within the High Flood Risk Area and 249 LGAs within the Moderate Flood Risk Areas.
Additionally, he noted “I have notified all state governors on the level of flooding to expect in their respective states in order to give the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) publication the urgency it deserves”.
In conclusion, He stated that in his opinion, AFO 2024 will be a true tool for strategic planning that prevents the loss of life and property by providing sufficient, well-coordinated flood early warning and raising public awareness.
In an interview with Landslidenews, the Representative of the World Metrological Organization (WMO), Dr. Benard Gomez, notably appreciated the effort of NIHSA in putting together the Annual Flood Outlook. He recognized the amount of data analytics that has been put in place to see that areas prone to flooding are being alerted early enough.
He further stated that NIHSA is sure giving out data and statistics that are more accurate than what they gave last year as he is very confident in their product. He also emphasized the need for feedback from users as it is important for the agency to ascertain its effectiveness.
this is a welcome development
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