A common environmental problem in Nigeria is flood and this occurs when a body of water moves over and above an area of land which is not normally submerged. It could also be seen as the inundation of an area not normally covered with water, through a temporary rise in level of stream, river, lake or sea.
In Kogi, flooding pounded the state so hard that several houses were submerged, belongings destroyed and lives lost. About six persons, including a toddler, were killed by the flood that sacked communities in the Ibaji Local Government Area of the state. Over 600 hectares of rice farmland among several buildings were flooded due to the flood caused by the opening of the Lagdo Dam and torrential rainfall. The woes of residents affected by the flood wrecking different parts of the state have worsened with the scarcity of potable water which the state Ministry of Water Resources said was caused by the flood.
Also, Over 60 per cent of lands in Anambra State are currently underwater, according to the State Emergency Management Authority. The development forced the state government to order closure of schools in the areas where over 700,000 people were displaced and 300 communities sacked. Apart from submerging houses and farmlands, critical infrastructure such as schools, healthcare centres, police stations, banks, offices were also affected; a situation that made the state government to shut schools in the riverine areas.
The occurrence of flood represents a major risk to riversides populations and floodplains, in addition to causing substantial impacts on the environment, including aquatic fauna and flora, and bank erosion. Flooding is becoming an increasingly severe and more frequent problem in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the impact is more felt by the urban poor in such a way that recovery is unlikely to be achieved without external aid. In other words, urban poor are most vulnerable to impact of flood because they set up homes in the floodplains. Flooding is one of the most devastating hazards that are likely to increase in many regions of the world partly due to global climate change and poor governance.
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Human activities such as rapid industrialization and urbanization, population growth, exploitation of natural resources and location of infrastructures exacerbate the occurrence of floods. Causal factors of flood in Nigeria which includes indiscriminate dumping of refuse on drainage channels to channel adjustment and poor drainage conditions have been observed.
It should be understood that, flood management is a broad spectrum of water resources activities aimed at reducing potential harmful impacts. Proper management and control of urban flood is of vital importance, and this can be feasible if there is proper and effective flood or disaster planning and management through adequate preparation and monitoring. It is worth mentioning that prevention, mitigation and preparedness are very important issues in tackling problems of flooding. These approaches are better than disaster relief and response that overwhelm the activities of environmental management in Nigeria. Preparing for the occurrence of any known disaster such as flooding is seen as a part of mitigation measures; and it lies along a continuum of other disaster management activities like relief, rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction. Disaster preparedness as a preventive development can be established through adequate sensitization of people who are often affected by natural hazards.
Concerted efforts must be geared towards adequate city planning, policy formulation, enhanced public enlightenment programmes, integration of environmental planning and education to curriculum of schools at all levels, capacity building towards adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
Government at all levels should ensure proper and effective use of ecological fund; and encourage the integration of environmental disaster insurance to take care of the fall out of flood disaster. National disaster and emergency policies should be strengthened to facilitate effective disaster preparedness and response. This approach will not only save lives and livelihoods, but it will equally reduce vulnerability to disasters. Adequate and long-term environmental and natural resource management practices can help to reduce the risk and vulnerability of people in disaster prone areas.
Also of importance, is the establishment and collaborations between local communities, NGOs, voluntary groups, local and international donor organizations towards managing floods. Finally, dangerous political interventions in land use planning and management should grossly be avoided in order to protect the occurrence of avoidable disasters and blaming of innocent professionals.