The Benue State Government has issued an urgent advisory for residents living in flood-prone areas to evacuate immediately following the Nigeria Meteorological Agency’s prediction of impending floods.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. James Iorpuu, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Makurdi on Wednesday.
Iorpuu revealed that the state has implemented several precautionary measures, including extensive public awareness campaigns and the clearing of blocked drainages across urban centers to facilitate proper water flow.
As both a member of Nigeria’s Technical Committee on Disaster Response and Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, he emphasized the activation of e-emergency platforms for streamlined disaster reporting and response coordination.
“I also want to use this platform again to appeal to Benue people to vacate flood-prone areas. They know themselves. Year in, year out, when there is a flood, they vacate, and when it is no more, they go back to their shelters along the riverbank,” Iorpuu stated.
The permanent secretary particularly cautioned against constructing homes on waterways, citing Governor Hyacinth Alia’s ongoing infrastructure projects including road construction and water channel development designed to improve drainage.
He warned that the anticipated floods would devastate not just livestock but also human settlements and farmlands, drawing parallels to recent flooding incidents in Adamawa State.
Highlighting government preparations, Iorpuu confirmed that funds have been requested for flood victim support and that IDP camps have been pre-identified. He referenced the multi-billion naira Idye drainage project as a key flood mitigation effort.
Meanwhile, Makurdi resident James Ejembi proposed long-term solutions to NAN, stating: “The only permanent solution to the problem was the dredging of River Benue and the completion of Kamshimbila Dam.” Ejembi explained that these projects would help contain overflow from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam, a recurring source of catastrophic flooding in the region.
