Deep losses: Ending the cascading menace of floods
Floods had since become epidemic and an unpleasant menace affecting our society at large as urgent, quick, and lasting solutions have not been implemented to curtail the incessant issue in our society.
According to reports, damages and losses caused by floods are multitudinous as many individuals have been rendered homeless and stranded.
Recall the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that 19 states and 56 communities across the country will likely witness heavy rainfall that can lead to flooding within the month.
Lagos Territorial Coordinator, NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye disclosed this in Lagos. He listed the states and communities as Delta: Aboh, Ekiti State; Ado Ekiti, Ondo State: Akure, Idanre, Ifon, Iju Itaogbolu, Ogbese, Owo, Owena, Ondo.
Others, he said, include Lagos State; Apapa, Badagry, Eti Osa, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Ikoyi, Lagos Island, Ojo, Surulere; Anambra: Atani; Ogun: Ifo, Ota, Sagamu; Nasarawa State: Lafia, Wamba; and Cross River: Ikom and Ogoja.
Farinloye also listed Bauchi State: Jamaare, Misau, Azare, Itas, Kafin Madaki, Kari, Kirfi, Tafawa Balewa, Katagum; Jigawa: Hadejia, Miga; Osun State: Ilesa, Osogbo; and Kwara; Kosubosu.
The rest he said are Zamfara: Anka, Bungudu, Gusau; Sokoto State: Goronyo; Adamawa: Numan, Shelleng; Taraba: Serti; Benue; Ito, Katsina-Ala, Vande-Ikya; Imo State: Oguta, Orlu and Abia State; Ugba.
Also, the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), gave an early warning, alerting Nigerians that the country would experience severe flooding in the current year, as indicated by predictions from relevant agencies.
But, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) were amongst the government institutions that provided the seasonal climate predictions and annual flood outlook. Worthy of note was the clarion call made by NEMA that ‘actions should be taken early.’
Director-General of NIHSA, Mr Clement Nze stated that 178 LGAs in 32 states and the FCT had been predicted to experience severe flooding in 2023. But we are yet to come to terms with the full import of the forecasts.
That must be responsible for the deluge of tears cascading down the cheeks of some concerned Nigerians over the June 13, 2023 tragedy of a boat accident in Kwara state. According to the Kwara state police spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, “So far we have 103 people dead and over 100 rescued from the boat accident.”
In May, 2021, more than 150 people reportedly went missing when a boat transporting them to market broke apart while travelling between Kebbi and Niger states. It was considered as one of the country’s worst river disasters, with only 20 people rescued.
However, in April, 2022, 29 children from nearby Gidan Magana village in Sokoto state, who were on their way to fetch firewood for their families, drowned in the same river when their vessel capsized.
By and large, on 10 May, 2023, it was made public that 15 children drowned and 25 others were missing when their overloaded boat capsized in Shagari river in Kano state, northwest Nigeria.
For areas with greater flooding risk, there is the need to stop erecting buildings close to water banks, lagoons and canals. House owners should elevate the furnace, water heater, air conditioner and other utilities. They are also advised to install “check valves” in sewer traps to prevent flood water back-ups.
Interior barriers meant to stop low level floodwater from entering basements should be constructed. Seal walls should be provided in basements with waterproofing compounds to avoid seepage. Inventory or important papers and possessions should be removed from the basement. Dams should be well managed to locate and review the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the dam.
Aside the fact that Nigerians are undergoing unprecedented hardship, poverty, and insecurity, FG should endeavour to go beyond just advising residents of flood-prone areas to relocate to higher ground. The ability of many, especially the most vulnerable, to provide succour for themselves is doubtful. The various governments and their relevant agencies should therefore prepare realistic resettlement plans.
In other parts of the world, governments build ‘tent camps’ ahead of disaster warnings where large areas are cleared, and tents erected, beddings provided, and sanitation, health and security and education facilities also provided.
Nigeria should also adopt pre-emptive policies such as de-silting of rivers, maintaining drainage systems and building dams and levees. These should complement the usual reactive measures like humanitarian intervention and relief materials provided to displaced persons.
Since flood epidemic reared its ugly head in the country, every rainy season has become one that fills Nigerians with dread and trepidation given the outcomes. We consider it disturbing that in the face of this natural challenge, the government at all levels seems helpless in finding a sustainable solution to it. Nigerians expect proactive measures that will provide a lasting remedy to the problem. Instead, what they get are platitudes and relief materials that offer no relief to victims after each devastating episode.
It is common that Nigeria concurrently experiences seasonal flooding, no relevant action has been adopted by the federal government to tackle the ugly situation except to issue warnings to those living close to riverine areas to vacate their dwellings.
Following this scenario, the government finds it more convenient to issue blame after every episodic devastation while it shuns its own responsibility. Sad as it may sound, those living close to the river banks include 70 per cent of the rural poor. Therefore, asking them to vacate their homes without providing them with an alternative is tantamount to rendering them homeless.
We urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime to tackle this issue of flooding once and for all by providing lasting and relevant solution to the challenge. This will entail putting in more efforts to enforce rules against building on drainages and water lines, just as it embarks on clearing drainages which are clogged with waste.
But while these concrete measures are pursued, the agencies of government concerned should employ effective ways and measures of creating awareness and disseminating information especially among those in the rural communities on how to behave to contain the negative impact of flooding.
Meanwhile, the greatest active measure that can be taken is massive sensitisation for the people to prepare for the inevitable. While little can be done about protecting crops in the farmlands until the major flood pathways are permanently fixed, we can save lives by getting out of the way of floods before they arrive.
The sanitary inspection system which in the past helped keep our communities clean and held epidemics at bay, must be revived. Government must partner with community leadership to mobilise the people and sanitise the drains. Our lackadaisical attitude to sanitation and indiscriminate dumping of refuse are mainly responsible for urban flooding. It is largely preventable if governments are alive to their responsibilities.
Flood-prone communities lying too close to the banks of these rivers should be given special attention by the Federal Government in partnership with the concerned states.
Flooding in Nigeria is made worse by the poor management of drainage systems. The combination of heavy rains and nonexistent or poor drainage system increases the likelihood of flash floods in cities.
Adding to the problem are poor waste disposal, poor urban planning, tarmacking of urban roads and construction of drainage systems without climate adaptation in mind.
The country therefore needs to make improvements. According to researchers who have specialised in meteorology for about two decades, there are several ways it can do this. The key interventions needed include: understanding the impact of climate change on rainfall extremes and water resources, investing in a functional weather forecast system, addressing the problem of poor drainage.
