The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Wednesday, said it has begun the 2025 National Preparedness and Response Campaign (NPRC) in Edo to address flood risks and related hazards.

NEMA’s Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, highlighted the devastating impacts of annual floods in Nigeria during a stakeholders’ engagement held in Benin.

Umar, represented by the Head of Operations, Benin Office, Mr. Kenoma Ojuedere, emphasized that recent floods have resulted in loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, costing billions of naira in damages.

Umar noted that Nigerians have suffered injuries and lost life savings due to unmitigated flood incidents and associated secondary hazards annually.

She referenced the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) by NIMET and NIHSA, providing insights into rainfall patterns and flood scenarios.

Umar disclosed that NEMA developed the 2025 Climate-Related Risk Management Implications, Preparedness, and Mitigation Actions based on NIMET-NIHSA predictions to guide response efforts.

“As part of its flood early warning system, NEMA identified disaster risk management implications and mitigation strategies for communication to communities at risk during the rainy season,” she said.

She called on public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs, schoolchildren, and youth organizations to leverage early warning tools to support NEMA’s efforts.

She added, “Consequently, NEMA developed disaster mitigation strategies, including capacity building for local responders, simulation exercises, rainwater harvesting, and adherence to predicted rainfall onset before planting.”

Umar called on partners present at the meeting to support NEMA’s initiative of taking early warning messages to the people to safeguard against past experiences where the rainy season became a moment of adversity.

She emphasized the importance of traditional institutions, religious organizations, women, youth groups, and the media in this regard.

Also speaking, Executive Secretary, Edo State Emergency Management Agency (EdoSEMA), Mr. Jerry Idahosa, thanked the DG of NEMA for choosing Edo State as a focal point for Phase two of the nationwide campaign.