Federal Government has advised state governments to take proactive and necessary mitigating measures in addressing forecasts on heavy rainfall and flooding.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq gave the advice in a statement in Abuja.
Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq said states to experience heavy rainfall and possible flooding this year include: Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, Niger, Kogi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Rivers.
She urged states to identify high grounds for use as camps, for the evacuation of possible Internally Displaced Persons and to shelter evacuated communities.
Others are: Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Kwara, Zamfara, Sokoto, Lagos, Ondo, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun, Abia, Kano, Kebbi and the Federal Capital Territory.
The minister also sympathised with people of Kebbi, Bauchi and Jigawa following heavy flooding in some areas of the states, which had led to the loss of lives and farmlands including the displacement of many people.
According to her, the 2020 Annual Flood Outlook forecasts that 102 Local Government Areas in 28 states will have heavy rainfall, while 275 LGAs in the 36 states of the Federation including Abuja will experience moderate flooding.
Similarly, the remaining 397 LGAs fall within the low probable flood risk areas. Unfortunately, the predicted floods have started to occur in many parts of the country, including Bauchi, Kebbi and Jigawa.
The minister said it was imperative to activate plans and measures against the prediction, as the season moves toward the peak periods. RN