The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has charged stakeholders at the grassroots to take actions that will reduce the adverse impacts of floods during the 2025 rainy season.

The director-general of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, said this at the stakeholders’ engagement on flood disaster, organised by the agency on Thursday in Ona-Ara Local Government, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The programme focused on the 2025 National Preparedness and Response Campaign (NPRC) for flood disasters and related hazards for effective early actions to save lives and livelihoods during the rainy season.

Ms Umar noted that the devastating impact of floods over the years served as a wake-up call to all tiers of government to collaborate with the agency to manage disaster risks and associated hazards.

Represented at the event by NEMA’s South-West zonal director, Saheed Akiode, Ms Umar decried that unmitigated incidences of floods have resulted in the loss of lives and infrastructure.

“Rainfall and flood forecasts contained in the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction and the 2025 Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) have provided us valuable insights into rainfall pattern and flood scenarios during the year.

“In the same vein, NEMA has developed the 2025 Climate-Related Risk Management Implication, Preparedness and Mitigative Actions out of the NIMET-NIHSA predictions to serve as a guide to reduce the impacts of floods during the year.

“As part of our flood Early Warning System, NEMA has identified disaster risk management implications and mitigation strategies for communication to communities at risk during the rainy season. We have also produced vulnerability maps for all communities at risk to serve as tools to guide,“ she said.

The NEMA boss said some LGAs in the state had been predicted to be affected by flooding during the 2025 rainy season.

Ms Umar listed the 11 high and moderate flood risk LGAs to include Itesiwaju, Ona-ara, Lagelu, Ibarapa Central, Kajola, Egbeda, Ogbomoso South, Ogbomosho North, Iseyin, Ibarapa North, and Ibarapa East.

“It is necessary to stress that management of disaster risk in contemporary times hinges on community-wide participation, leaving no one behind.

“We must work together to safeguard communities at risk, protect critical infrastructure and support uninterrupted socio-economic activities of our people,” she said.

Also speaking, Ojuolape Busari, the administrative secretary of the Oyo State Emergency Management Agency (Oyo SEMA), urged residents to refrain from dumping refuse into the waterways to prevent flood disasters.

(NAN)