Eleven States along the banks of Rivers Benue and Niger have been put on alert over likely flooding as Cameroon began release of water from the Lagdo Dam.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), which issued the alert following the release of the water which began on Tuesday, listed the States to include Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers.
In the past, the release of water from the dam located close to Nigeria border with Cameroon had led to massive flooding in some States.
However, NIHSA allayed the fears of Nigerians on massive flooding, saying that the release of water this time is being controlled to prevent likely flooding.
NIHSA’s Director General, Umar Mohammed, said in a statement: “Following an official communication from the dam’s management, the water release will gradually increase over the next seven days.
“The initial release rate was 100 cubic metres per second (approximately 8.64 million cubic metres per day) starting September 17, 2024 (yesterday), with potential increase to 1,000 cubic metres per second.’’
Mohammed said the final rate would depend on inflows from the upstream Garoua River, the primary source of the reservoir, which also feeds into the Benue River, a key waterway in Nigeria.
“The release will be regulated to ensure that water levels do not exceed the capacity of the Benue River system, preventing major flooding in downstream areas of Nigeria,” he added.
The NIHSA boss reassured the public that measures are in place to control the flow and reduce flooding risk, with the release stopping once inflows to the Lagdo reservoir are manageable.
He emphasised that there is no immediate cause for alarm, as water levels along the Benue River remained within safe limits.
Unexpected release of water from the dam had in the past years caused heavy flooding in many States in Nigeria, especially those close to the Benue River.
The worst was in 2012 when houses were submerged in in most States along the banks of Rivers Benue and Niger especially Makurdi, Benue State, and Lokoja in Kogi and parts of Anambra, Delta and Adamawa States.
Ten lives were lost and properties worth millions of destroyed.