avoid flood disasters in Nigeria

In the last couple of months, the intensifying rate of flood disasters which suddenly emerged in the various parts of Nigeria has resulted in serious damage to lives and destruction of billions of naira property including houses, industries, public utilities; raising a serious concern among the people as their safety and economic well-being have been threatened. bad credit loans

Meanwhile, several causes have been proffered for flood disasters. Some are due to natural phenomena such as excessive rainfall, overflowing of rivers’ banks leading to inundation and flash flooding, among others. The human causes of natural disasters arise from inappropriate attitudes towards the environment, ranging from construction on waterways, dumping of refuse in drainages, disregard of professionalism in building construction, and outright negligence on the part of individuals. As a result of these and more, Nigeria has lost thousands of lives and property to unsecured loans disasters in recent times. 

Floods have been described as the most common and widespread of all natural disasters throughout Nigeria. For instance, Ibadan flood claimed over 120 lives and left thousands displaced in September 2011; while Lagos State flood disaster has claimed about 25 lives and with more than 1000 people displaced in July 2011. Also, Sokoto state flood has displaced 130,000 people in September 2010; while 6 died and 276 were displaced in Kano State flood in June 2011
So far, as experience has shown that prevention is always the better approach in disaster management, consequently, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) under the leadership of the Director-General, Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Sidi, has strengthened its approach to Disaster Risk Reduction. This was given birth to several mitigating measures against flood disasters such as issuance of constant warning alerts against the occurrence and the potential hazards of anticipated floods across the six geo-political zones in the country; through its reputable Geographical Information System Laboratories in collaboration with the National Metrological Centre.

Other safety measures put in place by the Agency include setting up of Grassroots Emergency Volunteer Corps aimed at mobilizing assistance within the communities before any further help from the state and federal governments; systematic development and application of policies, strategies and practice to minimize disaster risk in the society, such as organizing conferences and workshops aimed at educating individuals on flood disaster risk reduction.

The agency has on several occasions spoken on preparedness against floods, which it found crucial in overall disaster planning, at it will help to reduce social disruption and losses to existing property. Careful planning is necessary for the efficient evacuation and relief of flood victims. For this to be effective it must define hazardous areas and potential dangers. In the observations of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) (1999) successful flood fighting depends upon good organization, through advance planning, well-trained personnel and effective coordination of operations at local, provincial and national levels.