The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has launched an early warning campaign in Kaduna State to mobilise a proactive response to anticipated flood risks during the 2025 rainy season.

Zubaida Umar, the agency’s director-general, said at a stakeholders’ engagement on Thursday in Kaduna that the campaign aimed to raise awareness and strengthen preparedness across flood-prone communities.

Represented by Sulaiman Muhammad, head of NEMA operations in Kaduna, she said Kaduna North and Chikun Local Government Areas had been identified as high-risk zones due to flash floods and blocked drainage channels.

Ms Umar said flooding in recent years had resulted in the loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, with damages running into billions of naira.

“Many Nigerians had suffered injuries and lost their life savings due to unmitigated flood incidents and associated secondary hazards annually,” she decried.

The director-general cited the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction and Annual Flood Outlook as indicators of changing rainfall patterns and likely flood scenarios.

She said NEMA has developed flood risk maps, community vulnerability profiles, and response guides to aid disaster preparedness in Kaduna.

“As part of our early warning systems, we are prioritising community sensitisation, drainage clearance, stockpiling of relief items, simulation exercises, and livestock vaccination,” she added.

Ms Umar said NEMA, in collaboration with the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA) and local volunteers, would take warning messages directly to vulnerable communities.

She urged religious and traditional leaders, civil society groups, and the media to support the campaign and reinforce flood awareness.

Ms Umar reaffirmed NEMA’s alignment with the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that “disaster management is everyone’s responsibility

Also speaking, NEMA’s chief disaster risk officer, Halima Galma, said 12 states and 43 LGAs had been classified as high-risk, while another 12 states were listed under the medium-risk zone.

Ms Galma said a technical forum held in March recommended improved coordination, targeted reforms, and better dissemination of early warning.

She called for investments in flood-resilient infrastructure, GIS-based real-time mapping tools, and stronger communication channels.

(NAN)