Abuja: The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) has said its Flood Response, Recovery and Resilience Project is currently supporting about 200,000 households displaced by the 2024 floods across 12 states. The Director of Disaster Management at NRCS, Dr Benson Agbro, represented by Ms. Blessing John, made this announcement in Abuja during the unveiling of a scorecard on the Flood Response, Recovery and Climate Resilience programme.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the intervention has reached the states of Anambra, Borno, Cross River, Enugu, Bayelsa, Gombe, Nasarawa, Niger, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, and Sokoto, focusing on emergency response, recovery, and long-term resilience building. The project was developed in response to reports from the 2024 flood incident, which highlighted widespread displacement and inadequate community coping capacities.
To sustain the impact, about 600 community-based volunteers have been deployed across the 12 states. These volunteers work alongside community resilience committees, which now lead local action and evacuation efforts.
Programme Coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Gloria Konyenga, shared that the programme, funded by the Italian government in partnership with NRCS, has achieved significant results. The project aims to enhance households’ and communities’ abilities to respond effectively to floods while creating systems for faster recovery from future disasters.
A major component of the intervention is forecast-based early action, training communities to respond promptly to flood warnings. Warehouses and prepositioned relief centres have been established to ensure immediate response capability during emergencies. Additionally, an Emergency Operations Centre and a digital warehouse management system have been set up to enhance coordination and stock tracking.
Flood safety protocols have been introduced in 77 schools across the 12 states, with residents receiving training in disaster risk reduction, first aid, and search-and-rescue operations. Damaged public facilities, such as schools, town halls, and solar-powered water points, have been rehabilitated to restore essential services.
A resident of the Manga community in Wamba LGA, Nasarawa State, Mr Sule Manga, expressed that the intervention had significantly improved flood preparedness and reduced isolation risks. He noted that early warning systems, local volunteer coordination, and evacuation drills have enabled residents to respond more effectively to seasonal flooding. Manga also mentioned that boreholes in the community were repaired, marking the first major external intervention despite repeated flood incidents over the years. However, he pointed out that difficult terrain and poor road access remain significant challenges in reaching remote communities.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that NRCS and IFRC are conducting a lessons-learned workshop to document insights from the programme for future disaster resilience and emergency response planning.