By Brave Dickson
The Nigeria Environmental Society Rivers State Chapter has urged the Rivers State Government and its citizenry to start adhering to rules of waste disposal as well as town planning so as to mitigate the perennial flooding in some parts of the state.
The state chairman of the group, Mr Kingsley Nwobidi who made this known in a chat with our correspondent said: “I will advise both government and residents to adhere to adequate waste disposal approaches and methods, as well as town planning rules in terms of where and what to fix as structures. Also, adequate enlightenment on where and where not to build is very important.”
Mr Nwobidi also cited several reasons that could lead to flooding saying that, “flooding depends on what part of the country that is involved. In Rivers State and Niger Delta in particular, what leads to flooding is improper disposal of refuse especially nylon bags. If wastes are not properly disposed and drains are blocked, it could lead to flooding.
“Another one is the issue of high water table, the ground is so saturated with water. As rain falls, it takes a little time to saturate the entire soil process, the left over ones that can’t go down into the soil are seen as surface flood.
“Another reason why we get flooding especially in Port Harcourt is caused by poor planning. If you build on waterways, you are most likely to experience flooding when it blocks the natural water course and water doesn’t have anywhere to pass through.”
Worried by the devastating effects of flooding on the environment, residents of Port Harcourt and some communities in the state have been lamenting over the rampaging flood that has displaced thousands and destroyed property worth millions of naira.
Residents of Port Harcourt City, Obio Akpor, Oyigbo and old Ahoada LGAs of the state were recently dealt with by heavy floods which displaced hundreds. Of a very pathetic story was the flooding in Eneka community in Obio Akpor LGA.
Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry during an assessment of the affected areas promised that the state government would do everything within its powers to address the immediate and remote causes of the flood. But she also accused the residents of building houses on water channels.
Though the rapid rate of urbanization and population growth of Port Harcourt city in the last ten years have led to uncontrolled and uncoordinated development of swamps, flood plains and natural drainage channels thereby aggravating the risk of flood hazards in the city.
A study has shown that rainfall intensity is high in Port Harcourt due to climatic changes such as high rainfall volume and duration, stating that the risk of the occurrence of potentially damaging flood in Port Harcourt increases with increasing rainfall intensity.
Also, the risk of flood is bound to increase in the future with increasing urbanization, hence the need to demarcate the flooded areas for effective flood mitigation.
