The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has sounded a warning signer over cases of flash floods affecting farming activities in some communities across the state, such as Bosso and Paikoro and Edati local government areas of the state.
The Acting Director General of NSEMA, Malam Garba Salihu, disclosed this during a briefing session with the press in his office in Minna, disclosing that the agency has started receiving reports of flash floods that is currently affecting farming activities in the state.
According to the report by the National Agricultural Extension Research Liaison Services (NAESRLS), the economic value of the agricultural-related losses due to the 2022 flood was estimated to be about N700 billion.
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The damage from the 2022 flooding situation necessities the need for the warning due to its serious consequences in the country as it damaged agricultural stores, warehouses, roads, bridges, and other transport networks, making it difficult for people to travel and for agricultural goods to be transported. It also led to the spread of waterborne diseases and disrupted access to clean water.
“Those people living on the floods plains should stay clear off the floods plains, while the farmers in particular in Niger state should reduce their activities on the river banks including floods plains, we should also make sure that we don’t build on waterways and those in the cities or urban areas should not clog the drainages with refuse dumps.”
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“Those in the urban cities should also be very watchful and make sure they are always at home whenever it is raining and the children should not be allowed to play on the banks of the rivers and particularly these drainages close to their houses”.
The NSEMA Boss further expressed his happiness to the new Governor in the state, Mohammed Umaru Bago, who has started proactively by decongesting structures along the waterways in parts of the state like Minna and Suleja areas of the state.
