By Mary Onyia
The Federal Government has issued an urgent flood alert across 19 states and 76 specific locations nationwide, warning residents and relevant authorities to brace for potentially devastating flooding following forecasts of intense rainfall over the next five days.
The alert, released on Tuesday by the National Flood Early Warning Systems Centre under the Federal Ministry of Environment, identified areas at high risk between August 5 and August 9, 2025. The ministry urged stakeholders, emergency responders, and citizens in the affected zones to take immediate precautionary measures to mitigate loss of lives and property.
States identified in the high-risk category include Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Cross River, Nasarawa, Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kano, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Jigawa, Yobe, Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno, and Gombe. Some of the particularly vulnerable towns and communities listed are Eket, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Keffi, Gboko, Zaria, Daura, Birnin-Kebbi, Wudil, Kontagora, Mangu, Takum, Potiskum, and Sokoto.
This new warning comes on the heels of recent devastating floods already recorded in Ogun, Gombe, Lagos, Plateau, Anambra, and Delta states, triggered by torrential downpours that inundated communities, displaced families, and destroyed infrastructure.
Flooding has become an annual crisis in Nigeria, largely driven by poor urban planning, blocked drainage systems, climate change, and the release of excess water from dams. In 2024, at least 31 states experienced severe flooding, which claimed hundreds of lives, injured thousands, and displaced over 1.2 million people.
The human and economic toll of flooding continues to escalate, crippling farmlands, disrupting transportation networks, and placing additional pressure on overstretched emergency services. Experts have repeatedly called for more proactive flood management systems, including effective early warning dissemination, environmental reforms, and stronger collaboration between federal and state agencies.
As climate patterns become more unpredictable, the need for robust flood preparedness strategies has never been more urgent, especially for communities living along riverbanks and flood plains. The current warning is a stark reminder that preventive action, not just disaster response, must become the cornerstone of Nigeria’s approach to natural disasters.