Following the revelation by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that the southern part of the country would be host to heavy and unprecedented rainfall,the country's readiness to mitigate the impact of severe inclement weather that could expose the populace to the danger of heavy flooding and its attendant catastrophe is once again dominating discussions in the public domain.

NEMA had on Tuesday, issued early warning based on the alert it received from the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) based in Niamy, Niger Republic that there may be such severe weather in Central, East and West African sub-regions.

According to the statement signed by NEMA's south-west spokesman, IbrahimFarinloye, Lagos and its surrounding states were expected to experience torrential rainfall from about 50mm.The statement ended by enjoining the residents of these red flag zones to adopt all precautionary measures.

According to official statistics, in 2012, over two million people were displaced by flood in 27 states. Following that national disaster, the federal government had assured that it was initiating steps toward evolving a broad-based National Framework for Climate Services( NFCS) with the objective of incorporating science-based climate information and predictions provided by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) into planning, policy formulation and execution.

Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, who gave the assurance during the public presentation of the 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) and Nigeria Climate Review bulletin by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) noted that at the global level, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in 2012, adopted the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) designed to incorporate science-based climate information and prediction into planning, policy formulation and execution.

The flooding in 2012 left in its wake , no fewer than 363 people dead , 5,871 people injured, 590,000 homes destroyed, and 2.1 million people were displaced.

Farmlands were also not spared as they were completely ravaged thus raising genuine fears of an impending famine.By the time the raging flood calmed down, the country reportedly lost assets worth N300 billion which is equivalent to 2 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).