KEY POINTS
- Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency warns 11 states of flood risk due to water release from Cameroon’s Lagdo dam.
- Federal and state authorities urged to prepare for potential flooding impacts.
- Nigeria’s northeast is already battling severe floods after heavy rains caused a dam failure in Borno state.
Cameroon releases water from Lagdo dam, causing food security concerns
After Cameroon released water from the Lagdo dam, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) put out early warnings to 11 states, therefore pointing to the fact that there is high food danger in Nigeria.
This was done under control after the recent heavy rains that have occurred in West and Central Africa and have already led to serious floods in the northeastern state of Borno.
NIHSA’s preventive measures and warnings
The NIHSA, in their statement, pointed out that the Cameroon government has seen the need to drain water from the Lagdo dam as a measure of avoiding an overflow of the Benue River. The agency was keen to ensure that the floodwaters would be released gradually in order not to cause huge floods.
Nevertheless, those of the Benue River-Benue state, Nasarawa and Kogi, as well as the oil-bearing states in the South, are still vulnerable. Federal and state governments are encouraged to prevent the situation since water levels are rising and this may cause extensive flooding.
According to Reuters, the authorities have been called upon to exercise higher preventive measures that would have prevented a disaster of such proportion, similar to that of 2022.
This is why NIHSA says people should exercise caution in these areas following the disastrous floods that occurred earlier this year.
As earlier stated, Nigerian floods are at their worst level in a decade due to the heavy rain and Cameroon’s decision to let go of the dam.
Uncompleted dam project intensifies flood impacts
In northeastern Nigeria, Borno State has recorded very devastating floods as a result of a breach of a dam by rain waters.
It is within the Sahel zone, which is characterized by low rainfall but has been receiving abnormal rainfall lately, hence increasing the prospects of disasters.
For instance, it has been established that Nigeria’s uncompleted dam project is among the structural deficiencies that have worsened the food danger in the country. This abandoned construction of the dam could have lessened the effect of Cameroon’s water discharges if had been completed.
