NIHSA Announces Decrease In River Benue Water Level

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, (NIHSA) has announced a slight decrease in River Benue’s water levels, thus lowering the risk of severe flooding.

The announcement comes 18 days after it noted the commencement of an intermittent release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam, by the Cameroonian authorities.

The release was expected to be executed at the rate of 100m/s (8,640,000m’/day), and increase gradually to 1000m%.

At the time, the NIHSA said the depth of the release at the time was dependent on the inflow from the upstream Garoua River which is the main feeder into the reservoir and a major contributor to the Benue River.

However, a statement on Saturday by the NIHSA’s Director-General, Umar Mohammed, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to monitoring the water levels of the nation’s major rivers and tributaries, as part of its overall flood management strategy in Nigeria.

“NIHSA is working closely with the authorities and management of Lagdo Dam regarding water releases, and the agency is committed to monitoring water levels at critical stations,” he said.

He urged citizens to remain vigilant due to unpredictable climate conditions and to continue observing flood preparedness protocols.

NIHSA’s 2024 Annual Flood Outlook reveals that 148 Local Government Areas, LGAs, across 31 states are at high risk of flooding.

The affected states include Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Kebbi.

Others are Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.