ABUJA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian authorities issued a red alert on Monday to five southern states, saying there may be possible flooding in that region soon.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), which is responsible for issuing flood alerts, issued the final stage of warning to the southern states of Edo, Delta, Anambra, Rivers, and Bayelsa.
NIHSA Director General Clement Onyeaso Nze urged administrators of the five states to identify communities bordering the Niger River and make plans for evacuation of people in the event of flooding.
He added that the recent river flooding that occurred in northern states would still find its way through the aforementioned states before emptying into the ocean.
This year, some of Nigeria's 36 states and the federal capital territory, Abuja, had witnessed different levels of flooding, as predicted earlier by the hydrological body.
Tens of thousands of people were affected by the worst flooding in seven years in northeast Nigeria's Adamawa state. In central Nigeria, at least 18 people died due to floods in the region.
In August, the NIHSA issued an alert over possible flooding due to the high intensity of rainfall across the country.
The hydrological body said the floods at the time were due to high rainfall intensity of long duration, rainstorms, blockage of drainage systems and poor urban planning resulting from the erection of structures within the floodplains and waterways.
