By Beatrice Gondyi Bauchi
In April this year, the federal government of Nigeria, through the ministry of information and National Orientation Agency (NOA) unveiled the 2025 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO), with an introduction of innovative flood risk management strategies.
The Federal Government yesterday August 10, 2025 issued its most severe flood warning of the year, placing fifteen northern states on red alert following meteorological predictions of catastrophic flooding between 10-14 August 2025.
This emergency alarm
comes as Nigeria faces what climate scientists describe as a “perfect storm” of environmental factors threatening to surpass previous flood disasters.
The National Flood Early Warning Centre (FEWC), operating under the Federal Ministry of Environment, has identified the following states as being at extreme risk: Adamawa, Bauchi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kano, Niger, Taraba, Jigawa, Yobe, Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno and Kwara. This alert represents an escalation from July’s warning which covered eleven states, with four additional states now deemed vulnerable.
However, in Bauchi State, the Director Relief and Rehabilitation, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Adamu Nayola in a recent interview with Spear News, said the state government has taken serious measures to mitigate the impact of flooding.
“Of course NIMET predicted this year that Northern part of the State and Central part will experience flood disaster. The issue of flood disaster in Bauchi state is unique because in Bauchi state we experience recurrent flood disaster, it is a recurrent phenomenon here in Bauchi”, he said.
The Director said in Bauchi, there is peculiarities in the local government that are mostly vulnerable to flood disaster in the state.
“Most of the local government are down there in the North, including the central and some parts of the Bauchi South, especially Alkaleri and Kirfi, sometimes Tafawa Balewa and Toro form part of the flood prone areas.
He said on this year’s prediction by NIMET, the SEMA and the ministry of Environment and the governor of the state, Bala Mohammed, the information has been cascaded down to local communities at the grassroot to stay alert.
“With the commitment of His Excellency, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state towards disaster management we downscale all the information to the grassroots so that this vulnerability will not happen or if it happens it will come in a lesser impact.
According him, the state commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Hajiya Hajara Yakubu Wanka has initiated a stakeholders engagement in the state in order to collect data from relevant MDAs, NGOs and CBOs with a view to identifying the challenges and how to overcome them.
“This is because flood disaster is a great issue in the state, it comes in different ways, sometimes with the heavy downpour”, he said.
“Sometimes it comes from plateau state from their river. When the river is full, it releases it to the downstream.
“We are experiencing two types of flooding in the state, the high downpour and high volume of water releases from the Plateau river.
The Director stated that, with the stakeholders engagement this year, the government has toured all the local government areas of the Northern part of the state to meet with stakeholders at the communities that are mostly affected, including the moderate ones and the lowest ones.
“We have discussed the issue of flood disaster in their communities, what is their challenges, how do they identify the alerts, the early warning signs of the disaster and then we give them the information we receive from the NIMET, we harmonize the information we have and their own with the aim of mitigating the situation.
He said, at the stakeholders engagement, experts in different fields of disaster management are actively involved.
“We carry along soil scientists, agronomists, among others to give the communities information about the importance of planting early variety seeds before the rainy season to address problems arising from the negative impact of climate change.
“In collaboration with the local government and the communities, we identify the high level areas where most of the people affected are living at the riverine areas and caution them to go to the upper land to avoid any inconveniences. These are some of the strategies we are using to handle flood disaster this year.
Corroborating the Director SEMA, the Director General of the Bauchi state Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA), Mahamood Mohammed Bose, said they had recently conducted a Special exercise along the Major Roads in the State Capital to unblock blockages at Waterways.
According to him, the exercise which include unblocking Cross Culverts and Drainages was meant to create free flow of water within Bauchi Metropolis.
“For the past two or three months if there is anything that we are doing, is this issue of community desilting. We have been organizing desilting exercise in most of the communities”, he said.
According to the DG, BASEPA has been actively working with community members to carry out desilting exercise.
“And even tomorrow (Saturday) we are going to flag off desilting of drainages in all the 20 LGs of the state. This is not the beginning, we are continuing with what we have started months ago”, Mahamood Mohammed Bose said.
The DG who stated that BASEPA had conducted desilting of drainages before the onset of the rainy season, explained that it did that because at the onset of rainy season no one has control over the waterways.
“At that period, water can bring debris from anywhere and deposit it in the drainages again, so this is the second phase of the desilting of drainages that we are conducting statewide, and we are starting tomorrow”, Mohammed Bose hinted.
In a press press release, the Honourable Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, outlined the Federal Government’s comprehensive strategies for flood preparedness and response in Nigeria.
Last year, as of 31 October, devastating floods across 34 states in Nigeria affected 1.3 million people and claimed over 320 lives.
The destruction severely disrupted essential services, particularly health care, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH).
In Maiduguri, Jere, and Konduga Local Government Areas, 25 primary health care centres and two tertiary facilities were destroyed.
Earlier in May this year, reports indicated that, at least 110 people died in floods caused by torrential rain in Niger state, North central Nigeria.
According to the head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency (Nsema), Abullahi Baba-Arah, the downpours which lasted for several hours, caused flood which submerged and washed away over 50 residential houses with their occupants” in the town of Mokwa.
According to National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in 2023, over 676 lives were lost and more than 2.4 million people were displaced across 33 states.
This year, just last week, NEMA’s Director General, Hajiya Zubaida Umar alerted that the Chad Basin Development Authority had warned of the gradual release of water from the Alau Dam in Borno State.
Also, NEMA’s Maiduguri Operations Office had launched rapid assessments, dispatching field teams to monitor water levels across vulnerable locations, including Fori, Al Amin Daggash, Gwange, and Moro-Moro Bridge.
Zubaida Umar has during a recent emergency preparedness meeting in Abuja, declared zero tolerance for complacency in addressing the impending flood, assuring that NEMA is operating on 24-hour alert, with its teams fully mobilized across the country.
These actions are part of what experts noted as a national pivot toward anticipatory disaster response.
Environmental experts say Nigeria’s flood vulnerability stems from multiple sources: poor urban planning, clogged drainage systems, illegal constructions on floodplains, and the accelerating impacts of climate change.
While experts admits the presence of structural failures, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), revealed that, at least 148 Local Government Areas are at high risk of severe flooding in 2025.
According to reports, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has cautioned that disaster-induced displacements in Nigeria could double by 2030 if major adaptation measures are not taken care of.
Responding to the recent flood disaster that ravaged parts of Yola, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has paid an emergency visit to the Bole mining site to assess the root causes of the incident. The Governor’s visit is part of a broader effort to understand the environmental triggers behind the devastating floods and to implement urgent measures to prevent future occurrences. Governor Fintiri was accompanied by environmental experts, local officials, and members of the State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), as he toured the affected areas and held consultations with community members and technical teams. This decisive move underscores the administration’s commitment to environmental safety, disaster response, and the protection of lives and property in Adamawa State.
With the predictions by Nimet SPEAR NEWS conducted phone interviews with residents across the northeast and these are
Hadiza Sani– Maiduguri Resident
“Honestly, we are worried. Last year, we lost a lot. The government should not just give warnings. They need to take action—clear the drains, build embankments, and provide shelter for those in flood-prone areas.”
Bashir Dahiru – Yola Resident (Trader):
“We hear these flood predictions every year, but nothing changes. If it rains heavily now, my shop will be underwater. I don’t think they’re doing enough.”
Hafsa Halliru– Internally Displaced Person (IDP) in Borno:
“Where can we go? We are already displaced by conflict, now floods too? We need help urgently, not just words.”
Adam Abdullahi – Jalingo Resident (Civil Engineer):
“I believe early warning is important. But local councils need to act. They should build better drainage systems and educate people on how to reduce flood risk.”
Zarah Mukhtar– Bauchi Resident (Student):
“I didn’t even know there was a prediction. They should use radio, social media, and even mosques to spread the warning. Not everyone has internet.”
With the rainy season underway and flood warnings in place, residents in the North East are calling for urgent action and better communication, just as they hope for a different approach to the flooding crises in the region.
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