CEM REPORT, FINANCE | To avoid a reoccurring of what happened last year experts have advised Nigerians to take heed and prepare proactively against the damaging effects of the weather forecast of this year.
They advised Nigerians to take precautionary measures against the forecasted heavy rains and expected flooding.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Leadway Assurance Limited, Tunde Hassan-Odukale, said the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET) in its recent forecast, issued a grim prediction of what is to come, including early onset of rainfall accompanied by heavy flooding.
He recalled the NiMET forecast that coastal areas in the South-South, particularly, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States, will experience downpours; Southern Inland cities will experience precipitation while central states will experience heavy rain.
Others like Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, Ogun, and Lagos states are also listed among those going to experience flooding and he advised residents to safeguard life and property.
He stated that this year’s flooding has been estimated to create losses of over ₦4.2 trillion adding that the agricultural sector which contributed 26.97 per cent to the national GDP last year, is the most vulnerable sector to flood devastation.
He said that insurance policies to help victims of flood recover from financial losses have been designed by the insurance sector.
“This year’s forecast paints a bleak picture, especially against the backdrop of the prevailing global inflation and economic vulnerabilities and uncertainties. We must proactively take action to mitigate the human and material losses from the flooding incidents last year.”
To further strengthen his call Hassan-Odukale cited a 2022 report that floods resulted in 662 deaths across 33 states as heavy rains washed away years of investments in agriculture, farmlands and properties estimated at trillions of Naira.
The report also estimates that over two million Nigerians were displaced while the economy lost over N4.2 trillion to the floods.
