Lagdo Dam: NEMA issues flood alert on Adamawa, Benue, 9 others

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday issued an alert on imminent flood in 11 states in the country following the release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

The NEMA Director-General, Mustapha Ahmed, who disclosed this at the National Emergency Coordination Forum meeting in Abuja, listed the states where floods are likely to occur as Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers and Taraba.

He urged the governments in the states located downstream of River Benue to make a concerted effort at addressing and mitigating the impact of the impending flood.

The NEMA chief noted that the meeting was necessitated by the notification received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the modulated release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

He said the East African country had started the release of water from the Dam at the rate of 200 cubic meters per second or about 18 million cubic meter of water per day.

READ ALSO: FLOODS: Nigerian govt charges states to be proactive ahead of possible floods

Ahmed said: “The states on the downstream of River Benue are Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers and Taraba.

“Information available from the flow level of the River Benue at Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) gauging station at Makurdi stood at 8.97 meters as of August 25, 2023 compared to 8.80 meters on the same date in 2022.

“Also, NIHSA has provided that the flow level of the River Niger system, especially at Niamey, Niger Republic, remains stable at a normal level of 4.30 meters.

“Similarly, inland dams including Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro reported consistent flow regimes.”

He, therefore, called for immediate evacuation of Nigerians from various communities to safer destinations to prevent disaster arising from flood this year.

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