By Emmanuel Edukugho
Natural disasters occur without notice and can happen at anytime like sudden lengthy downpour of rain leading to flooding and displacing of families from their homes.

Heavy and prolonged rain falls cause flooding and have been the worst natural disaster which befalls this country periodically. People are displaced and rendered homeless; properties and infrastructure are destroyed while communities are dislocated and lives lost as a result of flooding and erosion that occurred after persistent rainfall.

Displaced

The rainy season is commencing and  Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Tunji Bello at a recent media briefing warned residents to be  prepared for 236 days of heavy rainfall  in 2012, with serious intensity. It will be like that of 2011, recording 1,279mm of waters with marginal error of 50mm.

He assured residents that the government has designed programmes to manage the expected rain water and minimise flooding.

There was what could be described literally as “baptism of fire” when an early morning rainfall wrecked havoc in some parts of Lagos on Monday February 13, 2012. Although it lasted for about 30 minutes, several persons died and property worth millions of naira were destroyed. Many buildings had their roofs blown away by the rainstorm. About 200 families were rendered homeless by the storm. Ten children were drowned when a boat carrying them to school on that fateful Monday morning capsized due to the violent wind while five other people were killed.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Lagos State Government have asked residents to brace up and be prepared for heavy rainfall this season.

NIMET alerted of this in
2012 and urged states proned to flooding to redouble their efforts in containing the situation.

In 2011, many cities, towns, villages and communities across the country experienced flood disasters  in different scales leading to the displacement of thousands of people. That of Ibadan was described by the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Sanni Sidi as the worst in the country in  recent times. Some lives were lost and many people were rendered homeless. Houses were submerged in water.

University of Ibadan lost property worth N10 billion to the heavy torrential rain, according to the vice-chancellor, Professor Isaac Adewole.

In many parts of the north including Jigawa, Sokoto, and other states in the region, heavy flooding and erosion swept through communities, sacking homes, markets and other places of abode. Several families were displaced forcing them to seek refuge elsewhere. Hundreds of houses were damaged, bridges collapsed, traffic was disrupted between North-West and North-East axis of the country.

In Lagos State, from Mainland to Island, Badagry to Epe, there were sad tales of woe of   the people who lost their homes and businesses due to flooding caused by rain.

Many residents of Owode-Onirin, Agboyi, Owodelede, Maidan, along Lagos/Ikorodu Highway, are usually prone to flood disasters yearly.

In some cases, the flooding was caused by unexpected release of water from a dam by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority. For instance, several communities which lie on the banks of the tributaries of the Ogun River which overflows by the release of water from the Oyan Dam are usually adversely affected.

The areas involved covered about 2,800 hectares, which include Ikosi-Ketu, Owode-Onirin, Isheri, etc, to the extent that residents with houses along the banks and flood plains of the Ogun River were directed to relocate.

In Lagos, the situation is worsened by the improper disposal of wastes as residents dump plastic containers, nylon bags, and all kinds of rubbish into canals, gutters and drainages. These have caused severe blockages.

The NEMA Director-General, Mohammed Sidi, attributed the cause of flooding in Lagos to lengthy rainfalls and heaviness in the blockage of water channels  and drainages, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and the building of houses along channels.

He urged immediate relocation of communities from floodplains and those that built houses on waterways.

It has also been discovered       that
people and communities along Nigeria’s 800 km long low lying coastline, especially in the South/South are highly vulnerable to floods, marine and gully erosion. Buildings along this coastline are subsequently exposed to danger during persistent rainfall, especially houses without solid foundation.

In this area, many houses are sinking with their window-levels very close to the ground and yet people are still staying in such buildings.

For the South-East, the region  is threatened by gully-erosion-caused by wear and tear on the surface land making rainwater to accumulate in one area. With persistent rainfall, landslides are triggered, swallowing up hundreds of houses and cutting off major roads and isolating several communities. In the South-East,gully erosion is known to have caused loss of lives, loss of farmlands, collapse of sources of drinking water, permanent displacement of people from their homes and closure of schools.

According to Anambra State Ministry of Environment, over 30% of land in the state are lost to gully erosion, while 40% of the total land areas and homes are being threatened.

Worst hit in Anambra  are Aguata, Anaocha, Orumba, Nnewi, Njikoka, Idemili, Ihiala,Awka, Onitsha and Oyi.

Another aspect of the disaster is the frequent collapse of buildings which kill people and render many  homeless. Incidencts of buildings collapse are reported from all parts of the country and are caused by poor quality of materials, poor workmanship, construction without approval from relevant authorites and defective foundation.

Moreover, not many cities and towns have masterplans, and those that have are not properly implemented because of corrupt practices of government officials. People build houses without approved plans and on government lands, which at the end, are demolished.

People also desperately build houses under high tension power lines  which is dangerous and illegal. Such houses are demolished and as a result, several people are displaced.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State had noted that when the proponents of climate change and global warming were alerting people on the imminent dangers of the future of our planet, many considered them to be prophets of doom.

He pointed out that, “unusual snow fall, very cold winter, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, mud slides, volcanic eruptions, excessive heat, prolonged and intense rainfall have  claimed more lives in a few short years than many of the wars that have been fought in human history.”

According to Mr. Tunji Bello, Commissioner for Environment, “the truth is that no one can deny the amount of human and material resources that have been expended on drainages, emergency flood abatements and early warning system among other strides,  to ensure that storm water is properly managed to avert flood-related crisis.”

It will be recalled that the Atlantic coastline of Victoria  Island used to be a vast expanse of land far beyond its present limit. But due to its consistent devastating surges, the ocean has unfortunately reduced the coastline to a narrow stretch of massive rocks embarkment and concrete blocks. The truth today is that the exiquisite  Bar Beach area, once the haven of picnic lovers who came from all parts of the country to savour the place has simply lost its breadth and natural beauty.

The anti-ocean surge project of Lagos State Government helped to check the often recurrent flooding that threatened the high-profile buildings in Victoria Island. Expensive corporate office buildings, hotels and business establishments have been spared so far.

Governor Fashola had acknowledged that the “coastal erosion challenge of Lagos State today is a fall-out of the increasing threat to the environment, climate change, rising water levels,” adding that because Lagos is a coastal city, it is exigent for government to ensure that the environment is safeguarded for the future generation.

According to the UN Global Report on Human Settlements (Cities and Climate Change),

“It is estimated that by 2050, there could be as many as 200 million environmental refugees worldwide, many of whom will be forced from their homes by rising sea levels and the increased frequency of flooding and drought.”

Nigeria is believed to be one of the most risk-prone nations in Africa in terms of environmental abuses and degradation. The country is being bordered in the North by a desert which is fast encroaching into towns and cities and in the South by coastal erosion.

The country is witnessing unusual and abnormal weather situations that can spell disaster this year if proper care is not taken.

In the aftermath, more people are likely to be displaced and rendered homeless in their own country.