Sustainability and adaptation expert has warned that about 30,000 communities across Nigeria face varying levels of flood risk in 2026, urging stronger and more coordinated preparedness measures to reduce the impact of anticipated flooding across the country.

Opeyemi Ogundeji, a PhD researcher in the Department of Sustainability Studies at the University of Ibadan and an adaptation/resilience specialist, gave the warning, stressing that floods had increasingly become one of the most recurring hazards globally, with widespread consequences for lives, infrastructure, and livelihoods.

According to her, the 2026 Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) has played a critical role in strengthening preparedness, as it provides seasonal flood forecasts and integrates traditional hydrological models with ground data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to improve accuracy.

The AFO, according to her, classifies flood risk in Nigeria into three categories: high-risk areas where flooding is expected to pose severe threats to lives, property, infrastructure, and livelihoods, often requiring evacuation planning; medium-risk areas where flooding may damage farmlands, residential outskirts, and local roads, requiring monitoring and preparedness; and low-risk areas where flood occurrence is less likely but still requires public awareness and precautionary action.

She further highlighted that the critical flood period for 2026 was projected between July and September, during which an estimated 30,707 communities, 4,792 healthcare centres, 10,684 educational institutions, and about 4.2 million hectares of farmland would be at risk.

The expert also identified 34 states classified as high-risk during this period, including Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.

MEANWHILE, the National Economic Council (NEC), yesterday, approved the release of N83.2 billion for flood preparedness and climate disaster mitigation across the country, while defending its decision to slash by half a N166.4 billion intervention proposal, insisting that additional resources could be deployed as the situation unfolds.

The council, chaired by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also moved to strengthen Nigeria’s regional development architecture by considering a proposed National Regional Development Policy (NRDP) 2026-2030 aimed at addressing longstanding development disparities across the country’s regions.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, said NEC approved N83.21 billion, representing 50 per cent of the amount requested under the Anticipatory Action Task Force (AATF), established to coordinate early interventions against flooding and other climate-related disasters.

The proposal, presented by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, had sought approval for the disbursement of N166.42 billion through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) mechanism to designated implementing agencies and beneficiaries.