Floods are among the most devastating natural disasters in the world, claiming more lives and causing more damage to property than any other natural phenomena. In Nigeria, though not leading in terms of claiming lives, flood affects and displaces more people than any other disaster; it also causes more damage to properties. At least 20 per cent of the population is at risk from one form of flooding or another.

In Nigeria, flood disaster has been perilous to people, communities and institutions. Over the past one month, the country has faced an unprecedented flood disaster resulting in loss of lives and property running into billions of naira. Several states were affected, Kwara inclusive, chasing the inhabitants away from their homes. It has shattered both the built-environment and undeveloped plan. It has claimed many lives, and millions of properties got lost due to its occurrences.

One prominent feature about it is that flooding does not discriminate, but marginalises whosoever refuses to prepare for its occurrence. As of today, the number of displaced persons in Kwara State runs into thousands with many homes fully or partially submerged. The situation for these affected communities remains awful and miserable. While homes, farmland and livelihoods and productivity estimated at millions of naira have been lost, there have been minimal loss of lives and casualties, thanks to the early warning and proactive intervention of the Kwara State Government in conjunction with the National Emergence Management Agency. However, the state is now a flood disaster zone.

The state government has, however, risen to this occasion, doing its utmost, within its limited resources to assist the affected communities and displaced persons.

Recently, it released the sum of N25m to provide relief materials to the affected communities and has also appealed to the Federal Government for urgent intervention to assist those affected by this dreadful flood disaster. Indeed, there is an urgent need for a collaborative effort of both governments and stakeholders to support town planning, engineering and other professional agencies to combat flooding in Nigeria.

Folarin Adewale, Ilorin, Kwara State