Avoid drinking water from open channels. It’s a warning with red lights.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) has warned that flooding currently affecting parts of the country may persist through September, with projections indicating a possible worsening of the situation in the coming weeks if urgent mitigation measures are not implemented.
The Director-General of NiHSA, Umar Mohammed, raised the alarm based on the agency’s flood outlook, cautioning that the peak of the rainy season between August and September could bring more severe impacts than those already being experienced.
Mohammed spoke through Emmanuel Tuna, Head of NiHSA’s Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Department, during an assessment of ongoing flood conditions across affected states.
He noted that the agency had earlier issued early warning alerts ahead of the current flooding, stressing that the present situation was consistent with its forecasts.
“This is something we foresaw, we saw it coming,” Mohammed said.
He warned that the country was still in the early phase of the rainy season and that conditions could deteriorate significantly in the coming weeks.
“As we speak now, with the flooding happening, if nothing is done, this is just the start of the rainy season, sometime around July–September, and it could be worse than what is even happening right now,” he said.
“And we’re expecting it to be worse around August–September.”
The NiHSA boss also expressed concern over the potential impact of flooding on public health, particularly contamination of drinking water sources, which could heighten the risk of waterborne diseases in affected communities.
He urged relevant authorities at all levels to strengthen preparedness measures, improve drainage systems and ensure timely response mechanisms to reduce the impact of anticipated flooding.
