The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, (NIHSA), has urged states along the Benue River to intensify their vigilance.
The call is coming following the current plan by the management of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon to open the dam for water to rush out.
In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday by the Director General and the Chief Executive Officer, NIHSA, Umar Ibrahim Mohamed, he said that the states likely to be affected by open dam were: Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Rivers State respectively.
NIHSA had also called on governments at all levels to implement adequate preparedness measures to attenuate potential flooding that may result from the increased river levels during this period.
The statement further revealed that the release of water would begin at a rate of 100 cubic meters per second (ie 8.64 million cubic meters per day) and then gradually increase to 1,000 cubic meters per second over the next seven days, depending on inflows from the upstream Garoua River, the primary feeder of the reservoir and a significant contributor to the Benue River.
Lastly, NIHSA emphasized that there was no immediate cause for concern, as major downstream flooding was not expected in Nigeria, and that the current water levels along the Benue River was still within safe limits.
