Tina Amanda
An Environmentalist in Rivers state, Mike Karikpo, has blamed the recent flooding in Port Harcourt on global climate change, unplanned land reclamation and poor drainage system.
In an interview with our correspondent, Karikpo who is the Programme Director, Environmental Right Action Friends of the Earth Organization, said there is a rapid change in the climate which is causing flood crisis across the world.
He emphasized that the only way the flooding will not intensify is, if infrastructures that are climate resilient are built, proper drainage systems are constructed and people stop building on water right ways.
“The climate is changing rapidly which is the major causative factor of the flooding in Port Harcourt. All around the world, you could see Germany, USA, Netherland, Belgium and other countries had massive or worst flooding experience recently. In the case of Rivers State, it was aggravated by the unplanned sand filling known areas where flood gutters are to receive water to, relax a little before it goes back to the river. Right now, such areas are sand filled and built upon.
“Another problem is the sanitation habit, where people dump plastics and waste into the few drainages and they are filled up. The country is yet to build infrastructures to be climate-resilient, our roads are not with the idea in mind that the rain will be heavier and stronger, so we have more rain more water.
“We build our infrastructures without having in mind that we have a global crisis now and whether patterns are intensifying, there is the hurricane, rainfall, all of these issues are going on.”
He, however, urged the government to overhaul the entire architectural policy development, in order to build climate-resilient infrastructures that will avert further flood crises in the state and across the nation.
“Government needs to start planning, putting in place structures that we enable us to adapt to the intensifying climate crisis that we are experiencing and that will require redoing how we build infrastructures, the roads, drainages, houses. All of these have to be holistically dealt with, if not we will continue suffering from these flood issues and it will only get worse because this is just the beginning.”
