NEMA Urges Collective Action Against Flooding as 2026 Rainy Season Intensifies
By Chinyere Nwoye
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has called on Nigerians to adopt a whole-of-society approach in addressing flooding and other related disasters as the 2026 rainy season progresses.
The Director-General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, made the call while delivering a keynote address at a stakeholders’ engagement and the flag-off of the 2026 National Preparedness and Response Campaign on Flood Disaster and Related Hazards held in Awka, Anambra State.
Represented by the Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Enugu Zonal Office, Mr. Wilson Brandon, Mrs. Umar emphasized the importance of early and coordinated actions to safeguard lives and livelihoods across the country.
She disclosed that the agency has developed the 2026 Climate-Related Risk Management, Preparedness and Mitigation Framework aimed at reducing the impact of flooding nationwide.
According to her, the framework includes capacity building for local responders, simulation and tabletop exercises, as well as strict adherence to rainfall and flood advisories.
Mrs. Umar further identified the positioning of relief materials in flood-prone areas, infrastructure integrity assessments, and the development and testing of community evacuation plans as key components of the framework.
The NEMA Director-General noted that through its Flood Early Warning System, the agency has identified risk profiles and produced vulnerability maps for communities at risk, providing a guide for targeted disaster risk reduction planning by federal, state, and local governments.
She also revealed that NEMA is deploying technical teams to all states of the federation for direct community outreach.
The exercise will be supported by State Emergency Management Agencies, Local Emergency Management Committees, community volunteers, and NEMA’s zonal offices to strengthen grassroots sensitisation efforts.
Mrs. Umar stressed that preventing avoidable flood disasters requires inclusiveness, community participation, and shared responsibility, noting that disaster management is everyone’s business.
She expressed confidence that the Awka stakeholders’ engagement would enhance national preparedness, reduce the impact of recurring floods, and protect livelihoods in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Radio Nigeria Correspondent, Uche Ndeke, reports that the NEMA boss also called on local government chairmen, traditional rulers, religious organisations, women and youth groups, the media, and the private sector to support the agency in amplifying early warning messages and promoting disaster preparedness among citizens.
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