Nationwide Alert: FG Issues Warning of Five-Day Flooding Across 19 States

Nationwide Alert: FG Issues Warning of Five-Day Flooding Across 19 States

The Federal Government has issued a five-day flood alert across 19 states and 76 locations, warning of heavy rainfall that could trigger widespread flooding. The alert, announced on Tuesday by the National Flood Early Warning Systems Centre under the Federal Ministry of Environment, urged residents and stakeholders in the affected areas to take urgent precautionary measures. The warning comes amid reports of flooding in parts of Ogun and Gombe states, with other areas such as Lagos, Plateau, Anambra, and Delta also experiencing related incidents.

According to the forecast, the rainfall is expected to occur between August 5 and August 9, 2025. The states and locations at risk include parts of Akwa Ibom (Edor, Eket, Ikom, Oron, Upenekang), Bauchi (Tafawa-Balewa, Azare, Jama’are, Kari, Misau, Jama’a), Ebonyi (Abakaliki, Echara, Ezilo), Cross River (Ogoja Edor, Obubra), Nasarawa (Keana, Keffi, Wamba), Benue (Agaku, Buruku, Gboko, Igumale, Ito, Katsina-Ala, Ugba, Vande-Ikya), Kaduna (Jaji, Kafanchan, Birnin-Gwari, Zaria), and Katsina (Bindawa, Bakori, Daura, Funtua).

Other areas listed include Kebbi (Bagudo, Birnin-Kebbi, Bunza, Gwandu, Jega, Kalgo, Kamba, Kangiwa, Shanga, Ribah, Sakaba, Saminaka, Yelwa, Gauri-Banza), Kano (Bebeji, Gezawa, Gwarzo, Kano, Karaye, Tudun-Wada, Wudil, Kunchi), Niger (Kontagora, Rijau, Ringim), Plateau (Mangu), Taraba (Donga, Takum), Jigawa (Diginsa, Gumel, Dutse, Gwaram, Hadejia, Miga), Yobe (Machina, Potiskum), Zamfara (Anka), Sokoto (Sokoto, Wamakko), Borno (Biu), and Gombe (Bajoga).

Flooding has become an annual challenge in Nigeria, causing significant damage to lives and property. In 2024 alone, 31 states were affected, resulting in hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries, and the displacement of over 1.2 million people.

On September 10, 2024 the Alau Dam collapsed, causing floods in Borno State, killing at least 150 people, displacing 419,000 others and causing the community to submerge 70 per cent.

The country has experienced a series of flooding events that caused property damage, fatalities, injuries and displacement this year. The deadliest flood so far this year was in May that reportedly killed at least 200 people with thousands displaced in Mokwa, Niger State.

The floods, triggered by intense rainfall and exacerbated by a dam collapse, caused widespread destruction and severely impacted the community’s access to essential services.

While Mokwa was the most severely affected area, other parts of Nigeria also experienced flooding in 2025. The flooding affected multiple states, including Rivers State – where torrential rains caused floods and landslides that buried homes and swept people away in the city of Okrika, killing at least 25 people – and put millions of people at risk.

In April, at least 13 people were killed in Kwara State and Mokwa, including three people on a canoe that capsized on a flooded river, and rice fields were destroyed after flooding triggered by the routine water release from the Jebba Hydroelectric Power Station dam affected 30 communities.

Recently, the National Economic Council approved the release of intervention funds to support nationwide flood mitigation and response efforts.

NEC approved the disbursements of N3bn each to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory; N1.5bn to the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning; N1.5bn to the Federal Ministry of Environment; N1.5bn to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation; and N10bn to the National Emergency Management Agency.

In a dashboard released last Friday by NEMA, it showed that no fewer than 165 persons have died, 82 missing and 119,791 persons have been affected by this year’s flooding.

The agency also stated that 138 persons sustained various degrees of injuries, 43,936 displaced, 8,594 houses affected and 8,278 farmlands destroyed across 43 Local Government Areas in 19 States.

According to the agency, children and women were mostly affected.

Parts of Ogun and Gombe states were ravaged by floods on Tuesday following heavy rainfall that began Monday night and lasted into the early hours of Tuesday.

At Redemption City, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Mowe, Ogun State, residents, schoolchildren, and church members attending the annual convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) were trapped for hours as floodwaters submerged parts of the area. One of the worst-hit locations was Estate 15, where several vehicles were completely submerged. Stranded residents abandoned their cars and resorted to using canoes for transportation.

In response to the situation, RCCG officials deployed Type D school buses to assist in moving people in and out of the premises. A resident, Tunde, shared his experience, saying he was unable to leave for work until a special church-provided bus arrived to transport him and others out of the camp.

A similar situation was reported in the OPIC area of Ogun State, where flooding disrupted daily activities and caused property damage.

In Gombe State, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Haruna Abdullahi, confirmed that at least four people lost their lives due to a combination of flooding, windstorms, and heavy rainfall. He revealed that around 278 households, including farmlands and homes, were affected.

Abdullahi noted that the most recent incidents occurred in Kwami, Dukku, Billiri, Gombe, Yalmatu-Deba, and Akko Local Government Areas. He reported two fatalities in Gombe LGA, one in Dukku, and another in Kwami. According to him, many of the deaths were linked to collapsed structures caused by cracked walls during the storms.