The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, warned of a high risk of coastal flooding in Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos, and Rivers States. He linked the threat to the expected rise in sea level and tidal surges, which could negatively affect agriculture, human settlements, and transportation. Ahmed made these remarks in Abuja during the public presentation of the 2023 Climate‑related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Strategies, a document jointly produced by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
Ahmed cited the devastating impact of the 2022 floods, noting that at least 665 people died and 3,181 were injured nationwide. He added that 4,476,867 individuals were affected, 2,437,411 were displaced, about 944,989 hectares of farmland were damaged, and 355,986 houses were partially or totally destroyed.
He explained that, following the public release of the 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) by NiMet on January 24, 2023, and the Annual Flood Outlook by NIHSA on February 17, 2023, NEMA convened a technical meeting to review both forecast documents. The meeting brought together experts from relevant stakeholder organizations, who thoroughly appraised the risk implications of the forecasts and developed an early‑warning document covering the thematic sectors addressed by both NIHSA and NiMet.
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