Monday, June 6, 2026 -The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency has warned that flooding across parts of Nigeria could continue until September, with conditions expected to worsen in August if preventive measures are not implemented.
The agency’s Director-General, Umar Mohammed, disclosed this
in an interview with Sunday Vanguard through Emmanuel Tuna, the head of NiHSA’s
Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing Department.
According to Mohammed, the agency had forecast the current
flooding well in advance and issued early warnings to relevant authorities.
“This is something we foresaw, we saw it coming,” he said. “As we speak now,
with the flooding happening, if nothing is done, this is just the start of the
rainy season, sometime around July-September (12 weeks), and it could be worse
than what is even happening right now. And we’re expecting it to be worse
around August-September, particularly August-September.”
Mohammed said the agency is also concerned about the impact
of prolonged flooding on drinking water sources, noting that NiHSA had already
collected baseline data on borehole water quality before the onset of the
floods. He explained that the agency plans to conduct post-flood assessments to
determine the extent of contamination and identify its sources.
“We were concerned about the drinking water because we
expected it to last longer, the flood to last over a long period,” he said.
“So, we started analysing the quality of the water, and we did, we have our
reports. We wanted to observe the quality of the water before the flood because
we know that after flooding, or even during flood, we are expecting challenges
of drinking water in the states.
“So we can get to confirm what is polluting the water. We
want to confirm the sources, particularly the source. So we have before flood
records, as we speak, and now that flooding is happening, I am sure my DG is
already putting together a team to go to Lagos and get a post-flood report.”
The NiHSA boss identified Lagos State as one of the
country's most flood-prone states due to its exposure to urban, riverine and
coastal flooding. He said blocked drainage channels, silt accumulation,
low-lying terrain and rising river levels had intensified the impact of recent
rainfall.
Mohammed warned that flooding is expected to occur
intermittently over the coming months before conditions begin to improve. “We
are expecting this flood to be on and off, and to span from July to September
on and off,” he said. “Around October, we are expecting these rains to be
receding… the only time we can be safe, I will be honest, is possibly around
November.
He also accused state governments of failing to act on the
agency's annual flood outlook and repeated early warnings. “We have a challenge
of cooperation from states, a serious challenge with cooperation from states.
Most times we get disregarded. Our warnings are not taken with seriousness.”
Last week, heavy rainfall triggered widespread flooding in
several parts of Nigeria, with Lagos among the worst-affected states. The
floods submerged roads, homes and critical infrastructure, disrupted
transportation, displaced residents and caused power outages in some
communities after floodwaters inundated a transmission substation.
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