The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has kicked off its 2025 flood preparedness and response campaign in Edo State, aiming to tackle escalating risks and hazards posed by flooding.
At the official launch held Wednesday in Benin City, NEMA Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, described the devastating impact of floods across Nigeria, which have upended lives, destroyed livelihoods, and cost the nation billions of naira in damages.
Umar, who was represented by Mr. Kenoma Ojuedere, Head of the Benin Operations Office, emphasized the need for a collective response from stakeholders to ensure the success of flood containment measures.
“Many Nigerians have suffered injuries and lost life savings due to unmitigated flood incidents and associated secondary hazards annually,” she said.
The NEMA boss referenced the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction and the Annual Flood Outlook, highlighting expected rainfall trends and potential flood scenarios that necessitate early action.
She announced that the agency had crafted a detailed climate-related risk management and mitigation plan for the year.
“As part of our early warning system, we have identified disaster risk management implications and mitigation strategies for communication to communities at risk during the rainy season,” she explained.
Umar urged collaboration from both public and private sectors, humanitarian NGOs, school children, and youth organisations to adopt early warning tools and strengthen NEMA’s efforts.
She listed several climate change-related implications, including delayed onset and early cessation of rains, shorter growing seasons, above-normal rainfall, and intense dry spells. These trends, she noted, could impact multiple sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, energy, transportation, telecommunications, water resources, education, and security.
To mitigate the expected challenges, Umar said NEMA had developed strategic responses including capacity building for local responders, simulation exercises, rainwater harvesting, and synchronizing farming with rainfall patterns.
“Other strategies involve irrigation as an alternative water source for agriculture, livestock vaccination, effective contingency prepositioning of basic family needs, and risk transfer where necessary,” she said.
She called on residents of flood-prone communities to clear drainages, avoid dumping waste in waterways, draft evacuation plans, and enhance local-level information sharing and safety monitoring.
Umar added that in addition to stakeholder engagement, NEMA teams would be deployed to high-risk communities to distribute early warning messages, with support from State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and volunteers.
In his remarks, Mr. Jerry Idahosa, Executive Secretary of the Edo State Emergency Management Agency (EdoSEMA), commended NEMA for selecting Edo as a focal state in the second phase of the national campaign.
He said the campaign underscored NEMA’s dedication to building a disaster management framework that is resilient, proactive, and centered on the needs of the people.
