Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) has warned that flooding across parts of the country could persist until September, with the situation expected to worsen in August if urgent preventive measures are not taken.
The Director-General of NiHSA, Umar Mohammed, made this known in an interview with Sunday Vanguard through the agency’s Head of Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing Department, Emmanuel Tuna.
Mohammed said the agency had accurately predicted the current flooding and issued early warnings to relevant authorities ahead of the rainy season.
“This is something we foresaw; we saw it coming,” he said.
“As we speak now, with the flooding happening, if nothing is done, this is just the start of the rainy season. Between July and September, it could be worse than what is happening right now, and we are expecting the situation to deteriorate particularly in August and September.”
The NiHSA boss expressed concern over the impact of prolonged flooding on drinking water sources, revealing that the agency had already conducted baseline assessments of borehole water quality before the floods began.
He said the pre-flood data would be compared with post-flood assessments to determine the extent of contamination and identify pollution sources.
“We were concerned about drinking water because we expected the flood to last over a long period,” Mohammed said.
“So, we started analysing the quality of the water and we have our reports. We wanted to observe the quality of the water before the flood because we know that after flooding, or even during flooding, we are expecting challenges with drinking water in the states.
“We want to confirm what is polluting the water, particularly the source. We already have pre-flood records and, now that flooding is happening, I am sure my Director-General is already putting together a team to go to Lagos and prepare a post-flood report.”
Mohammed identified Lagos as one of Nigeria’s most flood-prone states due to its vulnerability to urban, riverine and coastal flooding.
According to him, blocked drainage systems, silted waterways, low-lying terrain and rising river levels have combined to worsen the impact of recent heavy rainfall.
He warned that flooding would likely occur intermittently over the next few months before gradually receding.
“We are expecting this flood to be on and off from July to September,” he said.
“Around October, we expect the rains to begin receding. The only time we can safely say we are out of danger is possibly around November.”
Mohammed also criticised state governments for failing to act on NiHSA’s annual flood outlook and repeated early warning advisories.
“We have a serious challenge with cooperation from states,” he said.
“Most times, we are disregarded. Our warnings are not taken seriously.”
Last week, heavy rainfall triggered widespread flooding in several parts of the country, with Lagos among the worst-hit states.
The floods submerged roads, homes and critical infrastructure, disrupted transportation, displaced residents and caused power outages in some communities after floodwaters inundated an electricity transmission substation.
