Flooding-in-Nigeria: Averting narratives of colossal losses by sticking to the course of urban & physical planning
Natural disasters are known to have constituted one phenomenon of loss which pose threats against human habitats. Over ages, disasters informed by nature have not left human environment so sacred without a test of course. However, it is also observable that many of the disasters have been aided by human factors in several instances. As human society become more complex, it is noticeable that certain acts of hostility against nature have, themselves, constituted threats which effects in turn are categorised as natural disasters. While it is indisputable that natural disasters, with unforseen impacts, do really greet human habitats to pose their ravages, it is also observable that human societies, with experience from the ravages of disasters, have come up with measures to mitigate against reoccurring troubles from such incidences.
While Nigeria is not known to be exposed to vagaries of turbulent disasters as obtained in other climates, it is observable that a few which do take course over time in the Country, have remained a dominant feature without any ready solution to guide against them. One of a few of the natural disasters known with the Country is ‘flooding’. The profile of the disaster is known to be a dominant feature as a reoccurring incidence which have over the years pose catastrophic consequences to socio-economic profile in the Country. The phenomenon is known to bear the registration of its occurrence annually, from rural to urban areas, with impacts which have registered losses of lives, properties and ravages to sectoral losses, debilitating to the economy.
Sectors which have over time directly suffered deep seated ravages of flooding in the Country are the agriculture and property sectors. This is not to say however, that the impact is limited to these sectors, just as it remains that the impacts that erupt from these incidences, bear multi-sectoral crunches with multi-faceted outcomes on socio-economic, cultural and political formations with effects of plethora dimensions.
It was reported on Monday, 23rd, August, by the Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (BASEMA) that flood had claimed the lives of three persons, destroyed 2,062 houses and 6,000 farmlands in the State this year. The Head of Operations, BASEMA, Dr Abubakar Gabarin, who disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Bauchi stressed that the flood had affected no less than 17 local government areas with destruction of properties valued at N900 million.According to the disclosure, the affected local government areas as Alkaleri, Kirfi, Jammare, Bauchi, Ningi, Zaki Giade, Itas Gadau Gamawa, Shira, Darazo, Dambam Bogoro, Katagum, Dass, and Warji. Disclosing that between June and August heavy downpours with windstorms and floods that causes serious damages is a reoccurring phenomenon every year in the State, he said: “This year by our records, we have recorded three deaths and 24 injured persons as well as destruction of 2,062 households and 6,000 farmlands.” According to him, the people whose households were washed away were now taking refuge in the neighbour’s houses and neighbouring villages.
Although the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Meteorological and Safety Agency (NMSA) had on the heals of the raining season earlier predicted massive flooding in different parts of the Country, especially those lying on the flood plains of the River Niger and River Benue, little or no precautions have been taken to foreclose catastrophic incidences.
Many communities in Adamawa and Yobe states had recently suffered flood catastrophe which recorded losses of lives, leaving many displaced, and properties destroyed. Worst affected communities were those of Numan, Demsa, Lamurde in Yola North, Yola South and Fufore local government areas. Others are Girei, Guyuk and Shelleng local government areas close to the Kiri and Dadin Kowa Dams in Adamawa and Gombe states respectively. The Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) had last Wednesday, August 18, disclosed that no fewer than 2,000 people had been affected by flood within the space of a week across the State. The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr. Mohamed Sulaiman, had told Arewa Voice in Yola, the State Capital, that 227 houses and 300 farmlands were also destroyed following two flood incidents in the State. According to him, 850 of the victims and 161 houses were in Duhu District of Madagali local government area. He had recalled that between August 11 and August 12, more than 150 farmlands and 66 houses were destroyed by flood in Lababiri village, Shelleng local government area.
In Yobe a report by the State’s Emergency Management Agency had revealed that no fewer than 94 households were affected, with 487 individuals displaced by a flood incident. The affected persons were reported to have since been moved to temporary safe location. According to the report, two missing children who were swept away by the rampaging floods were discovered in Dawasa, 40 kilometres away from Nahuta, while another woman lost her life when her building affected by the flood collapsed on Monday 16th August, 2021. Moreover, another disaster had trailed the incident in the State, following a heavy downpour in Potiskum Town of the State.
On Tuesday, August 3, 2021, a heavy downpour in Osun state had left disastrous ravages in some parts of Osogbo, Erin-Osun, Ilobu, following a flood that resulted there-from. While Osogbo, the State Capital was the most affected, several communities were not spared from crunching ravages. Some of the most affected areas include; Ibu-Amo, Oke-Arungbo, Oke-Ayepe, Powerline, Gbonmi, Oke-Baale, Obalende, Obate, Oke-Oniti Alekuwodo and Oke Awesin in Erin-Osun as Opopo stream, Osun River and Awesin stream overflood its boundaries. The ravages had left disastrous counts of losses of lives, destruction of properties worth millions. Business owners had reportedly counted colossal losses in hundreds of millions.
While the ravages of flooding extend across sectors, its impacts on the agricultural sector appear to be bearing a huge blow on socio-economic realities. Although such impacts have been reoccurring over the years, it is indisputable that the impacts, emphatically, with the prevailing realities of recent times, are largely undesirable with the deepening profile of food crisis in the Country. The move of the Country towards diversification through agriculture is largely threatened with the dominance of the ravages of preventable losses, such as the prevalent occurrence of flooding incidence over the years. The absence of such architectures of response as strong drainage networks, remain gaps for flooding to take course both in urban, rural as well as farming settlements across the Country. While the housing deficits in the Country remains deeply pronounced, the ravages of flooding on destruction of home properties is a song of lamentation, with depths of debilitating socio-economic impacts.
The need to build systems of response to mitigate the ravages of flooding in the Country is paramount. The impacts of the incidence against socio-economic conditions in the Country have largely posed hostilities to development. While disasters is known to always take course of event, it is apparent that architectures to mitigate their impacts have been proven, with possibilities of formidable effectiveness. In this regard, resort to the significance of sticking to the course of urban and physical planning as the compass in city building, becomes essential for the mappings of communities across the Country. Giving stronger attention to rejigging parameters towards redefining the urban and physical character of local communities and cities across the Country is paramount to mitigate loses of huge investments to flood incidence. Furthermore, the significance of placing emphasis on the need to reconfigure the community formation orientation of urban development in the Country is imperative. In this light, crafting layouts to guide the development of cities becomes important.
More significant, the necessity for the Government to strengthen virile policies on environmental management remains sacrosanct. Taking punitive actions of enforcement on defaulters who are predisposed to degradation or violation of directives to mitigate against flooding, such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse to block drainage channels, particularly, across metropolis of cities in the Country is paramount.
Hence, while it is imperative for the Government to build architectures of response to mitigate flood incidence and it’s ravaging impacts, the disposition towards such architectures in terms of maintenance culture and obligations on the part of citizens, go a long way in determining the workability of such architectures. Hence, developing an overarching system of response which gives expression to the demands of all sides for mitigating the ravages of flooding in the Country is paramount, against approaches ridden with gaps which defy the essence of the desideratum.
