Over 1.2 million Nigerians displaced by floods in 2024, authorities say
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reported that 1,243,638 Nigerians were displaced by flooding in 2024, while 1,237 people lost their lives during the same period.
NEMA Director-General Zubaida Umar made the disclosure at a national disaster preparedness stakeholders’ meeting held Tuesday in Owerri, Imo State. Umar, represented by Evan Niko, NEMA’s Head of Partnership and Collaboration, said the floods affected over five (5) million people and caused injuries to at least 16,469 individuals, including the destruction of over 1.4 million farmlands, the Nation Online reports.
Umar called for greater grassroots-level preparedness, emphasising the need to build community resilience to minimise future losses. She said NEMA had developed a national framework for climate-related risk assessment and mitigation in line with seasonal predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).
“We have embarked on various activities aimed at preventing and mitigating the expected impacts of the disaster with a view to reminding stakeholders about their responsibilities in flood disaster management. Today’s downscaling exercise of the 2025 seasonal climate prediction is further aimed at acquainting major emergency management stakeholders with the predictions and what is expected of them, to mitigate the expected impacts of the disaster,” she said.
NEMA identified Imo State as one of the high-risk flood zones, with Oguta and Ohaji-Egbema local government areas listed as the most vulnerable.
Nnamdi Igwe, Head of NEMA Operations for Abia and Imo states, called for enhanced remote sensing for flood mapping and improved coordination through community liaison systems.
Local traditional authorities also expressed willingness to support disaster preparedness strategies.
