Floods: As Poverty Exacerbates Household Vulnerability

 By Victor Okeke

This year’s tail-end rains in Nigeria have been marked by devastating floods. At least 600 people have died and 1.3 million displaced from their homes. Heavy rains combined with poor urban planning have made parts of Nigeria more susceptible to flooding. Evidence has shown that women, the poor, and uneducated are most vulnerable to floods.

Gender, poverty, and education are interrelated and they have indirect effects on vulnerability in flood disasters. Around the River Niger Bridge which joins Lagos to Onitsha and the rest of eastern Nigeria, sizable portions of surrounding communities have been submerged under water, crippling economic activity for many small traders and farmers.

Understanding Flooding In Nigeria And Finding Solutions

 By Femi D. Ogunnigbo and Taiwo Ogunwumi

As of October 24, 2022, the situation report reveals that 612 people have been killed, and 2,776 persons injured by this year’s flood, Nigeria Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiyya Farouq, stated. 

Finding a solution to flooding remains understanding the root causes first which can either be natural or human factors or both, Dr. Josiah Omirin, a lecturer at the Urban and Regional Planning Department at the University of Ibadan stated in a phone interview in gathering information for this report.

Natural factors can be classified into two. First, primary factors include excessive rainfall resulting in pluvial flooding (caused by climate change); and sea level rise which causes coastal flooding. Second is the secondary factor such as dams breaking, blockage of culverts; and narrow drainage channels.