Nigeria’s flooding crisis has claimed 245 lives and forced nearly 215,000 people from their homes across 28 states, with emergency authorities now racing to strengthen disaster preparedness ahead of the anticipated 2026/2027 El Niño phenomenon.
The scale of the devastation is underscored by figures from the National Emergency Management Agency’s flood dashboard, which showed that 673,350 people had been affected across 134 Local Government Areas as of October 20, 2026.
The alarming figures emerged at the National Emergency Coordination Forum convened by NEMA in Abuja on Thursday, as government agencies and humanitarian partners assessed ongoing flood response efforts and identified gaps threatening vulnerable communities.
NEMA Director-General, Zubaida Umar, warned that the growing humanitarian burden demanded urgent collaboration among emergency responders, health authorities and other critical institutions.
Represented by the agency’s Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Godwin Topikor, Umar called for stronger information sharing, intensified surveillance and coordinated interventions to ensure relief reaches communities bearing the brunt of the disaster.
She cautioned that displacement, poor sanitation and inadequate access to essential services could trigger additional public health emergencies, particularly in overcrowded communities struggling to recover from flooding.
Beyond the immediate crisis, NEMA is urging stakeholders to prepare for the anticipated 2026/2027 El Niño phenomenon, with authorities advised to harmonise climate forecasts, assess potential hazards and translate early warnings into concrete preventive action.
Umar stressed that disaster management must move beyond emergency response to prioritise early warning systems, risk reduction, preparedness and sustainable recovery.
She also called for an end to duplicated interventions, urging agencies to coordinate their activities and prioritise women, children, older persons and people with disabilities, who face heightened risks during emergencies.
The forum examined the country’s flood situation, cholera updates, possible hydrological implications of El Niño and global and regional climate forecasts. Participants also reviewed preparedness needs across food security, healthcare, education, nutrition, water and sanitation, emergency shelter, logistics and security.
In his welcome address, NEMA’s Deputy Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Tony Ephraim, urged participants to develop practical recommendations that would strengthen coordination, improve information sharing and boost Nigeria’s emergency response capacity.
The meeting brought together representatives of key federal ministries, security agencies, emergency responders, humanitarian organisations and development partners, including the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, Nigerian Meteorological Agency and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
With hundreds of lives already lost and hundreds of thousands affected, the growing challenge for authorities is to turn warnings and coordination plans into timely action capable of preventing further deaths and displacement.
