… Hits 4.7 m Nigerians
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
A World Bank Post Disaster Grade Assessment Report on 2022 Flooding in Nigeria released by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has shown that Nigeria lost at least N6.81 billion to flood last year.
The report was launched on Friday in Abuja by the Minister of Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Social Development and Disaster Management, Sadiya Umar Farouq who said that the objective of the Global Rapid Damage Estimation Note, developed by the World Bank’s Disaster-Resilience Analytics and Solutions team, was to assess the economic impact of the June-November 2022 floods in the country.
The Grade Assessment Report analysis estimates that the total direct economic damages, based on currently reported statistics as of November 25th are in the range of US$3.79 billion to US$9.12 billion with the best (median) estimate at US$6.68 billion.
This includes damages to residential and non-residential buildings (including building contents), as well as damages to infrastructure, productive sectors and to cropland.
According to the Minister, the GRADE assessment gives an overview of the nature of the flood disaster and its impact across Nigeria as well as sectoral and State-by-State effects critical for planning.
According to the Key findings of the GRADE report, all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory were affected by the 2022 flood in Nigeria with varying degrees of damages and people affected.
Meanwhile, Farouq explained that about 4.9 million persons were affected by the floods as of November 25th, 2022 causing significant damage to infrastructure including roads, irrigation and river infrastructure as well as WASH and electricity infrastructure with around $1.23 billion ($0.959-$1.724 billion) in damage expected.
She called on the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) including MDAs in all tiers of government to utilize the GRADE Assessment to plan the recovery and rehabilitation of victims of the flood, adding that the report can also be used to ameliorate the plight of victims of the 2022 flood.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Dr Nasir Sani -Gwarzo stated the GRADE approach is a collaboration of stakeholders like NIMET, NARDA, NIHSA, NSCDC and the GRADE assessment was conducted between Nov 14-28, 2022 after the flood water had receded in most parts in the country from June to November 2022.
The World Bank delivered the Grade Report on time in November 2022 and the Ministry through NEMA has started implementing some of the findings of the report, he added.
The GRADE report is a vital tool to understanding the effects of the flood on people, their coping capacity and who are the most vulnerable groups.
It can also be used to identify the most urgent recovery needs and the best methods of the reconstruction of critical sector/infrastructure, the ministry said.
