The National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned communities along the River Niger
to evacuate immediately to safer ground over the likelihood of floods that may
occur at any moment from now.
Director General of
NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, who gave the advice said the agency had received
alerts on the flood from information given by the authorities in the Republic
of Niger, that the present water level in the river had reached a point that
may result in flood that could be compared with the unfortunate experience of
2012.
He said: "Niger
Basin Authority (NBA) notified Nigeria that the rainy season, which started in
the Middle Niger (Burkina Faso and Niger Republic) in June 2016, has led to a
gradual rise of the level of River Niger in Niamey, Niger Republic. This high
level of water in Niger Republic is already spreading to Benin Republic, and
invariably, to Nigeria."
He further said that
the level of water in all the hydrological monitoring stations across the
country, as at Friday, 5th August, 2016, had already exceeded the
corresponding values at that time, which was an alarming situation that required
the prompt and coordinated action of all governments and stakeholders.
According to the
information, "if the heavy rainfall continues in intensity and duration within
these regions of the River Niger, it is imminent that flood situation similar
to that of the year 2012 may occur."
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