The need to tackle flood disasters
Last week, landlords and residents in Ogun State cried out for help after being rendered homeless following a rainstorm forcing them to abandon their homes and property in communities in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.
The communities affected by the rainstorm include Oke-Aro, Matogbun, Olambe, Keredolu, Igbaotun, Araromi Oke-Odo and Adio-Alausa.
Lamenting their situation, the affected landlords and residents said that they have been facing hard times seeking temporary accommodation elsewhere.
A representative of the communities, who is also the Chairman of the G-7 Environmental Committee, Kazeem Agunbiade said people whose buildings were affected had been experiencing hardship coping with the situation in the community.
In a similar situation, residents of streets around the Iju rail station in the Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State have raised an alarm about the disastrous havoc flood is wreaking in their homes following the construction of the rail station.
The residents of the streets including Akinde Street, Isholik Street, Idowu Akinsanya Street and Mokin Street, said some of them had been displaced by the flood while many others still in their houses could no longer sleep during rainfall.
Earlier in April, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had warned that Bayelsa, Lagos, Rivers, and Delta states are at higher risk of flooding in 2023.
During the presentation of the 2023 Climate-related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Strategies in Abuja on Thursday April 13, Director-General (DG) of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed said the flooding is predicted to result from rising sea levels and tidal surge in the states.
Nigerians had been advised earlier this year not to ignore warning forecast by the relevant weather monitoring and emergency management agencies about this year’s rainfall and flooding expectations.
Rainfall is known to be responsible for rapid increase in dilapidated roads and floods in Nigeria, a situation which is a serious and a ‘must-to-be attended to’ before it gets out of hands.
Nigeria is one of the most flood-prone countries in west Africa. Many areas experience annual flooding. This happens during heavy rainfall and one of the reasons is poor drainage systems.
The Lagos State Government has alerted residents that the year 2023 in the state is expected to experience an above-normal annual rainfall amount predicted at 1936.2mm which will start in the first week of April, specifically, on the first, Saturday, and cease in December.
Recall that NIMET also forecast extended rainfall in Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, Ogun, and Lagos states. It said, “between June and July, the northern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, and Borno would experience the beginning of rain, which will peak between July and September.”
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 important to point out that the indiscriminate construction on natural flood plains and storm water paths together with poor drainage systems in many residential areas clog channels with waste. This has, in no small way, contributed to the challenge that perennial flooding pose. This is further aggravated by lax enforcement of environmental laws.
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.
