Precious Nwonu, Enugu
The National Emergency Management Agency has deployed search and rescue teams to flood-affected communities across the country following torrential rainfall that has killed residents, displaced families and destroyed homes, roads, farms and other property.
The agency said it had activated its operational offices and was coordinating with state emergency management agencies and local responders as flooding continued in several parts of the country.
NEMA’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Manzo Ezekiel, said the agency would maintain its response efforts for as long as the rainy season lasted, noting that the current situation was not as severe as that recorded during the same period last year.
“So far, the records are better than incidents of last year. But we are not lowering our guard yet, because the season is still on,” Ezekiel said.
He explained that the agency’s Director-General, Zubaida Umar, activated NEMA’s operational offices following a flood alert issued the previous week.
According to him, search and rescue teams had been directed to visit affected communities, work with local responders and sensitise residents on the dangers posed by rising floodwaters.
Ezekiel said a NEMA team would move to Ebonyi State to assess the situation before proceeding to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where flooding had also become severe.
He attributed the flooding to a combination of natural and human factors, including prolonged rainfall, overflowing waterways, poor town planning, construction on waterways and blocked drainage channels.
He added that the Federal Government would provide technical support and reinforce local response efforts, while relief materials would be provided to affected residents.
The development followed warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency that heavy rainfall could continue, particularly in central and southern parts of the country, as the rainy season remained active.
A NiMet official said the agency would continue to issue daily forecasts and urged residents to monitor the alerts and take necessary precautions.
The latest incidents have affected communities in several states, including Bauchi, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo, Rivers, Osun, Ekiti, Abia, Anambra, Benue and Delta, with emergency officials also reporting impacts in Kano, Yobe, Nasarawa and Zamfara.
In Bauchi State, six local government areas were identified as the worst affected by disasters during the current rainy season.
The affected councils are Toro, Bauchi, Ningi, Shira, Gamawa and Kirfi.
The Director of Disaster Management at the Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency, Adamu Nayola, said while Toro, Bauchi, Ningi, Shira and Gamawa were mainly affected by windstorms and heavy rainfall, Kirfi recorded flooding.
He said two people had died in Kirfi, while thousands of houses and other properties were damaged across the affected communities.
Nayola said no formal Internally Displaced Persons camp had been established because most affected residents were staying with relatives.
In Edo State, residents of Enwan community in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area were thrown into panic after the Ojirami Dam overflowed following heavy rainfall.
The flooding submerged parts of the Enwan-Igarra-Ososo Expressway, disrupting movement and preventing students from attending school and farmers from accessing their farms.
A community leader, Agbadua Bamidele, expressed concern that continued rainfall could worsen the situation, recalling that the dam had overflowed in 1980, reportedly submerging more than 500 houses and causing deaths.
A poultry farmer, Monday John, said he lost 1,400 birds after floodwaters entered his property.
The Executive Secretary of the Edo State Emergency Management Agency, Jerry Idahosa, however, said the immediate threat from the overflowing dam had been brought under control after repairs were carried out.
He said the water board had also been advised on measures to release water when the dam level rises, while an IDP camp in Edo Central had been refurbished in preparation for possible emergencies.
In Bayelsa State, residents of Obogoro community in Yenagoa Local Government Area said more than 200 houses had been submerged or lost to flooding and erosion caused by the advancing Ekoli River.
Residents said the erosion had destroyed homes, farms and community infrastructure, leaving some families homeless.
The President of the Epie-Atissa Peoples Congress, Obesi Benjamin, said only a fraction of the original community remained and called for urgent intervention from the state and Federal Governments and the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The destruction reportedly affected a primary school, football field, NYSC lodge and burial grounds.
In Imo State, flooding affected several communities across nine local government areas, with roads rendered impassable in parts of Owerri and other areas.
The Acting Head of NEMA’s Imo State office, Innocent Nweze, said the agency had moved families trapped by floodwaters in Akwakuma to higher ground.
He said officials were also monitoring areas including Oguta and Ohaji/Egbema, while receiving reports from several flood-prone communities.
Flooding also affected parts of Rivers State, particularly Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas.
Residents of Marine Base, also known as Firisaka Polo, said they had battled floodwaters for almost a month and had resorted to hiring pumping machines to remove water from their homes.
In Iriebe, Obio/Akpor, floodwater submerged the Rivers State Rehabilitation Centre, while corps members at a nearby NYSC transit camp were also affected.
Other affected areas included Borikiri Sandfield, the NTA/Mgboba axis, Eleme, Oyigbo, Ahoada West and Ahoada East.
A 17-year-old, Ifeanyichukwu Osuji, reportedly drowned at Umuebereke community in Oyigbo Local Government Area.
In response, the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council commenced the desilting of canals and drainage channels in flood-prone areas and deployed swamp buggies to strategic locations.
In Osun State, flooding affected seven local government areas, damaging public infrastructure and private property.
The affected councils include Atakunmosa West, Ilesa West, Obokun, Osogbo, Olorunda, Iwo and Ifelodun.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Mayowa Adejoorin, said the government had embarked on measures including dredging waterways, creating public awareness and discouraging indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
Ekiti State also recorded flooding in several parts of Ado Ekiti and neighbouring communities.
The affected areas included Ayemi Garage, Adehun, Elemi River, Again Road, Abekoko, Falegan, Adere, Ureje, Iyana Eminrin and the new Airport Road.
Reports that three people were swept away by floodwaters in Ado Ekiti had not been independently confirmed at the time of the report.
The Ekiti State Government said it had spent more than N1.18bn between 2023 and 2026 on flood-control measures, including the rehabilitation of waterways and drainage infrastructure.
In Abia State, several communities were also affected, with flooding disrupting schools, businesses and transportation.
Areas reportedly affected included Ugwueke Alayi in Bende, Ekenobizi in Umuahia South, Ebem Ohafia, Nkalunta in Ikwuano, Ndume Ibeku in Umuahia and Owerrenta in Isialangwa South, among others.
A 12-year-old student of Federal Government College, Ohafia, Sopuruchi Ibe, was confirmed dead after being swept away by floodwater.
Another death was reportedly recorded at Ugwueke in Bende Local Government Area, although broader casualty figures reported in the state had not been independently verified.
In Anambra State, flooding affected parts of Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi, Ekwulobia and Ogidi, with homes, roads and schools submerged.
One pupil, Success Ezenwafor, died after floodwaters overturned a vehicle conveying schoolchildren along the Isiagu-Nibo-Awka Link Road.
Emergency responders rescued seven other children and two adults after floodwaters overturned shuttle buses, a tricycle and a school bus.
The flooding also affected crops and livestock in riverine communities in Ogbaru and Anambra East.
Following the incidents, the Anambra State Government issued a flood alert and urged residents in vulnerable areas to take weather forecasts seriously and relocate to safer locations where necessary.
In Yobe State, the State Emergency Management Agency said 34,533 people had been affected by tropical windstorms, heavy rainfall and flash floods across 15 local government areas since May.
The agency said 9,845 households had been affected, with 21,363 shelters or rooms damaged or destroyed.
It also recorded 303 injuries and 11 deaths, while 468 households comprising 1,120 people had been displaced and were in urgent need of emergency shelter and household items.
In Delta State, heavy rainfall triggered flooding in Udu, Uvwie, Warri South and Ughelli North local government areas.
Agbarho and Ovwian were among the affected communities, where floodwaters reportedly submerged homes, schools, roads and farmlands.
Parts of Ovwian were said to have become accessible only by canoe, while the drainage system along Jakpa Road was also reportedly damaged.
In Benue State, flooding was reported in parts of Makurdi, Buruku and Guma local government areas.
A report that a 10-year-old girl was swept away by floodwater in Makurdi had not been confirmed by the state emergency management authorities.
Meanwhile, Nasarawa State authorities said sensitisation campaigns had commenced across the state’s 13 local government areas, alongside preparations for temporary settlements in flood-prone communities.
NEMA had earlier activated its zonal directorates and operations offices after the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency identified 15 states at high risk of riverine flooding due to rising water levels. The states include Imo, Cross River, Ebonyi, Benue, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Kogi, Taraba, Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu and Abia.
The agency has urged residents of floodplains, riverbanks and other vulnerable areas to move to safer and higher ground, while warning Nigerians against attempting to cross flooded roads, bridges or fast-moving water.