Nigeria is bracing for a potentially devastating flooding season, with official projections showing that over 30,000 communities nationwide fall within varying flood risk categories, according to the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) unveiled yesterday.

In response to the forecast, President Bola Tinubu has declared Nigeria’s intention to transformthe perennial flood crisis into a driver of economic growth.

In the wake of the upcoming flood, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, disclosed that 14,118 communities across 266 local council areas in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory are classified as high-risk zones.

The minister revealed that the 2026 AFO report also showed that 15,597 communities in 405 LGAs fall under moderate risk, while 923 communities in 77 LGAs were projected to experience low flood impact.

The reports also indicated that major urban centres such as Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan and Port Harcourt were expected to witness flash and urban flooding driven by intense rainfall, rapid urbanisation and inadequate drainage systems.

The reports also showed that coastal and riverine flooding was also projected to affect key states, including Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos, Rivers and Ondo, where rising sea levels and tidal surges were expected to disrupt livelihoods, ecosystems, and transportation networks.

He revealed that the Federal Government was scaling up investments in hydrological infrastructure, including automated river gauge stations and enhanced data systems, to improve the accuracy and timeliness of flood forecasts.

He said that beyond the statistics, the government was leveraging advanced technology, with NIHSA deploying a hybrid AI-integrated modelling system and a real-time flood dashboard to support proactive risk management and emergency response.
Utsevemphasised that flood forecasting must translate into concrete action, warning that data alone was insufficient without community-level preparedness.

He called on state governments and local authorities to integrate flood risk into urban planning, improve drainage infrastructure, and enforce environmental regulations.

According to him, water resources, if effectively managed, have the potential to drive agricultural expansion, energy generation, transportation, and economic diversification, even as the country grapples with the risks posed by climate change.

ONNigeria’s intention to transform its perennial flood crisis, President Tinubu unveiled a vision to shift from an oil-dependent economy to one powered by water resources.

Speaking also at the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) presentation by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency in Abuja, the President, represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, said flood management had become
central to national development and food security.

Describing the event as a “significant milestone,” Tinubu linked his administration’s flood control strategy to its broader eight-point agenda, particularly the goal of achieving food security through strengthened water resource management.

A major turning point, according to him, is the 2024 Maiduguri flood disaster, which forced a shift from reactive to proactive flood management.