Abuja — The Federal Government has issued a fresh flood alert for 14 states, including Lagos, Adamawa, and Delta, warning residents in high-risk areas to prepare for possible flooding between September 16 and 18.
The National Flood Early Warning Centre of the Federal Ministry of Environment, in a prediction signed by Usman Abdullahi Bokani, Director of the Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department, listed 52 communities across the states as vulnerable.
The states include: Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Adamawa, Cross River, Bayelsa, Delta, Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Rivers, Imo, Sokoto, Ondo, and Lagos.
Communities flagged in the advisory include Epe (Lagos), Yola and Jimeta (Adamawa), Yenagoa and Otuoke (Bayelsa), Asaba and Patani (Delta), Ahoada and Bonny (Rivers), Birnin Kebbi (Kebbi), and Calabar (Cross River).
The alert comes just three days after a similar advisory for Adamawa and 10 other states, particularly around the flood plains of Rivers Gongola, Benue, and Niger. Residents in those areas had been urged to evacuate immediately.
Already, heavy rainfall has begun to cause damage in Adamawa. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that a downpour lasting from 4 a.m. to 12 noon on Tuesday triggered flash floods in 13 communities across Yola North and Yola South LGAs.
In a statement, NEMA said its rapid-response teams, working with the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Federal and State Fire Services, and local volunteers, carried out search and rescue operations. Vulnerable households—including women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities—were evacuated to temporary shelters.
The agency also conducted rapid assessments to determine damage to homes, infrastructure, and urgent humanitarian needs.
Lagos, which witnessed major flooding last week, also remains on the watchlist. A downpour had left motorists stranded along the Ikorodu Road axis, with gridlock stretching from Anthony to the Odo-Iyalaro Bridge.
Authorities have advised residents in the affected states to remain alert, avoid flood-prone areas, and comply with evacuation directives to prevent loss of lives and property.
