Floods galore around Nigeria …over 20 dead so far
The recent floods that have wrecked havoc in some states, rendering close to two hundred people homeless and killing over a dozen in the process in places like Lagos, Kano and Katsina may get worse going by the failure of state governments to apply some of the recommendations that will help reduce the devastations of […]
The recent floods that have wrecked havoc in some states, rendering close to two hundred people homeless and killing over a dozen in the process in places like Lagos, Kano and Katsina may get worse going by the failure of state governments to apply some of the recommendations that will help reduce the devastations of the flood in an early warning forecasts given by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
In an early forecast, NIMET had warned that the onset of rainfall for the year 2011 may be generally earlier than normal in some states in the North-East, North-Central, South-West and South-East. The rainfall is also expected to cease later than expected in states in the North-Central and parts of the South-West.
While the rainfall predictions are expected to have impacts on agriculture, health, infrastructure and hydrology NIMET had recommended that states begin to monitor water levels in their dams and ensure that existing drainages and canals are not clogged with refuse and dirt as has been the practice in most flood prone areas in the country.
But as governments begin to respond to the recent devastations by supplying relief materials to victims and housing the homeless in temporary camps, what has largely gone unmentioned is how little or nothing was done to apply some of the recommendations going by how investigations into the recent floods that has wrecked havoc in Kano, Lagos and Katsina has largely pinned the damages wrought by the flood on the clogging of basic drainage facilities by residents who have developed the penchant of blocking drainages with refuse and constructing houses along waterways.
As residents in flood affected areas wait in trepidation for the next heavy downpour that could spell doom to them meteorologists say the heavy downpour alone is not to be blamed for the floods but residents’ disregard for their environments is a large factor in determining whether they will be swept off by the floods or not. In Lagos, residents in flood areas have resorted to the use of pumping machines to help drain off the water that had swept into their houses and rooms, a remedy that will be rendered ineffectual the moment there is another heavy downpour.
Adebayo Ajayi who resides in the Panada area of Agege, one of the areas worst hit by the Lagos floods says: “The situation was so bad that I and my family could not sleep in our room up till the moment. We are still hanging around. For now, I sleep at my brother’s place at Oko-Oba.”
The scene in Ajayi’s neighbourhood reflects the chaos of a refugee camp with residents bringing out mattresses and belongings to dry in the sunshine. But even this chaos could prove to be mild compared to the health implications that could arise from the floods where water sources in wells could have been polluted and exposure from dirty flood water could lead to a rash of diseases among victims.
Ajayi showed Weekly Trust the skin in between the last two toes on his left foot which had peeled off due to an infection which he said came from the foul, vermin-infested flood water which he was wading through since the flood refused to go. A bigger concern is the breakout of disease like malaria and cholera, which often claim more lives the moment it develops into an epidemic. A key recommendation by NIMET that governments should provide potable water to people living in high risk areas before flooding occurs has not been implemented in most states across the country, Weekly Trust can say.
The havoc wrought by the floods is feeding a growing resentment in residents who experience the floods every year that their governments have failed to come out with solutions that would help tackle the floods. Olatunji Shamsideen who resides in the Agege area of Lagos says that in the ten years he has been in the area he cannot recollect ever feeling the impact of government in the area.
It is a similar complaint that is aired by residents in Kano and Katsina where recent floods, even as the rainy season is just beginning, have led to deaths and rendered over a hundred people homeless. In Katsina, the devastations of the flood is worsened by the fact that the force of the moving waters have led to the collapse of some buildings in mostly poor communities where houses are built from mud and thatched with straw. In Kano, the floods in the Fagge area of the old city knocked down several old houses and rendered close to a hundred homeless.
Kano and Katsina pose special challenges because these are cities with yearly outbreaks of epidemics like cholera due to the regular pollution of well waters by dirty flood waters, especially in rural communities with no access to potable water.
Another health challenge is ensuring that those who are displaced are provided with good health care to counter the outbreak of an epidemic. Danjuma Abdullahi Alti, the Permanent Secretary of the Katsina State Ministry of Works and Housing says special medical teams have been dispatched to affected areas to forestall the possible outbreak of cholera and other related diseases. He says three sub-committees of health and sanitation, structures assessment and a technical committee have been formed to help government assist the victims of the disaster. But the effectiveness of such interventions is better gauged as the rainy season gets well underway and residents in flood prone areas are exposed to further devastations by the floods.
What looks like a more lasting solution is the prescription by Lagos governor, Babatunde Fashola that governments should enforce compliance with state planning and regulation laws. He said: “This has become necessary because some people would still not conform to regulations that guide property development and physical planning in the state and therefore, would need the government to be uncompromising with enforcement.”
As it were the solution to the damages wrought by the floods is a bitter palliative which residents who live in perpetual fear of the rainfall are afraid of swallowing.