On May 28, 2025, the town of Mokwa in Niger State was overwhelmed by a devastating flash flood following torrential rainfall. The flood has claimed 159 lives as at 2nd May 2025, left more than 98 missing, and injured at least 11 people. More than 265 homes were damaged, infrastructure—including the vital Mokwa Bridge—was affected , and thousands of residents were displaced.
NEMA’s Early Warning and Preparedness Campaigns
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had, prior to the incident, issued multiple early warnings regarding likely flooding in flood-prone regions like Niger State. In collaboration with NiMet and NIHSA, NEMA’s early warning systems involved:
Disseminating seasonal climate predictions and real-time flood alerts via radio, television, social media, and town criers.
Organizing community sensitization programs to educate residents on flood preparedness, safe evacuation routes, and environmental practices like clearing blocked drainage and refraining from building in waterways.
Engaging traditional rulers, religious leaders, and community-based organizations to broaden the reach of these campaigns.
Despite these efforts, the scale of the disaster revealed the limits of national-level warnings without sufficient ground-level implementation.
NEMA’s Immediate Response to the Mokwa Disaster
In the aftermath of the flood, NEMA mobilized quickly to deliver relief and coordinate rescue efforts. Key actions included:
-Deployment of search and rescue teams in collaboration with the military and civil defense units.
-Provision of emergency relief materials, including food, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking utensils, and medical supplies to affected communities.
-Setting up temporary shelters for displaced persons.
-Rapid assessment missions to determine the scale of destruction and prioritize urgent needs.
-Engagement with local authorities to ensure the fair distribution of aid and identify at-risk populations needing urgent attention.
NEMA also emphasized the need for increased local preparedness to ensure that early warnings lead to actionable responses at the community level.
How State and Local Governments Can Complement NEMA’s Efforts
The Mokwa disaster highlights the urgent need for state and local governments to supplement and support NEMA’s national initiatives. Some actionable strategies include:
1. Investing in Flood Control Infrastructure: Construction of local dams, culverts, and drainage systems to manage runoff and reduce flood intensity.Maintenance of existing infrastructure to prevent collapse, as seen in Mokwa.
2. Enforcing Land Use Regulations: Preventing residential and commercial developments in flood plains.Removing illegal structures that obstruct natural water flow.
3. Establishing Community-Based Emergency Response Units: Training and equipping local volunteers for emergency situations.Conducting regular simulation drills in schools and marketplaces.
4. Public Education Campaigns:Sustained awareness programs about climate risks and personal responsibility in flood prevention.Encouraging households to create emergency plans and stock basic emergency kits.
5. Collaborative Data Sharing and Monitoring: States should invest in localized flood monitoring systems and share data with NEMA and NiMet for real-time forecasting and alerts.
Conclusion
The tragedy in Mokwa is a painful reminder of how natural hazards can turn catastrophic in the absence of resilient infrastructure and coordinated emergency response. While NEMA’s early warning systems and relief efforts were timely and commendable, flood disaster prevention and management must be a shared responsibility.Only through partnerships between federal agencies like NEMA and proactive engagement from state and local governments can Nigeria effectively reduce the impact of such disasters and build long-term resilience for vulnerable communities.