RED ALERT: 16 States on Edge as Nigeria Braces for Five-Day Flood Disaster

A nationwide flood scare is looming as the Federal Ministry of Environment has issued an urgent warning that 16 states face the risk of devastating floods between October 4 and October 8, 2025.

The National Flood Early Warning Centre (NFEWC), in a statement signed by Usman Bokani, Director of the Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department, revealed that 39 high-risk locations across the country may be submerged following heavy rainfall forecast.

The affected states include:

Delta (Asaba)

Yobe (Damaturu)

Sokoto (Isa)

Zamfara (Anka, Bungudu, Gusau, Kaura-Namoda, Maradun, Shinkafi)

Katsina (Jibia)

Oyo (Kisi, Oyo)

Kebbi (Ribah, Sakaba, Yelwa)

Kano (Gwarzo, Sumaila, Karaye)

Niger (Kontagora, Mashegu, Mokwa, New-Bussa, Rijau, Wushishi)

Kwara (Kosubosu)

Benue (Agaku, Buruku, Gboko, Katsina-Ala, Ugba)

Borno (Briyel)

Bayelsa (Brass, Ikpidiama, Odoni)

Cross River (Edor, Ikom)

Rivers (Itu, Ahoada)

Enugu (Nsukka).


The ministry has called on state governments, emergency agencies, and community leaders to activate precautionary measures to minimize loss of lives and property.

This warning comes against the backdrop of alarming figures from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which reported that as of September 20, 232 Nigerians have lost their lives, 121,224 displaced, and 681 injured by floods that ravaged communities across the country.

According to the 2025 Flood Dashboard, no fewer than 339,658 people have already been affected nationwide this year — a figure experts fear could climb sharply if immediate interventions are not enforced.

With vulnerable communities already reeling from previous flood disasters, many Nigerians now anxiously await the government’s next move to prevent another nationwide humanitarian crisis.