Abuja flood season without protection (I)

The peak of rainy season in the climatic zone of Guinea Savanna is characteristically accompanied with flooding in cities. Additionally, it is also accompanied with building collapses in cities like Abuja, which are beehive of construction activities. There are more concerns these years due to the ongoing conversions of green areas for physical development. Certainly, there will be consequences for these vigorous violations.

Proposals for land uses are aimed at ensuring the city’s functionalities. Abuja is designed to function as the Federal Capital City of Nigeria, much better than the previous capital, Lagos. Other aims are for the city’s beautification and protection against environmental tragedies. The major function of the green areas is the prevention of floods.

Already, NiMet has issued warning, stating that floods are looming in the North Central States of the country, due to the high expectation of above normal record of rainfall this year. This is because there is strong indication that El Nino weather pattern this year. It occurs every two to seven years. Flood cycles are not consistent on yearly basis. Large floods can take long period between the previous occurrence and the next. Conversely, it can reoccur with increased intensity even in the preceding year.

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Meanwhile, even before the warning by NiMet, the danger caused by flooding in cities has been envisaged during the process of the master planning. Focus on floods prevention are more on good land-use planning and stewardship rather than large engineering solutions. Developments are therefore not planned where they are not supposed to be.

The natural solution is, no developments at all in areas constituting natural runways for precipitation. Hence the designations of such areas for green developments only. The wisdom was for the plants to aid absorption thereby minimising runoffs. And, in the absence of human residences no life is threatened in case of any emergency.

Wide buffer zones, enough to prevent the natural disaster were provided along the major streams across the length and breadth of the city. Unfortunately, most recently, the greed for wealth accumulation through land misappropriation led to the violation of these buffer zones.

Years 2019 and 2020 were the high peak flood periods in Abuja with many lives losses. Flash floods could occur when large quantity of torrential rains fall within a very short period. In a typical scenario, 14 inches of rainfall occurs in a particular geographic region, concentrating in a space of only four hours. A very narrow stream swells from 18 inches to 20 feet within minutes. It will generate 31,000 cubic feet of water per second which can race down the canyon and take 143 lives, washing some of the bodies 25 miles downstream.

Abuja and its environs has its tastes of similar scenarios. A very narrow stream would experience a humongous expansion in no time, making it very dangerous for residents to cross, or would consume any nearby residential development in the absence of reasonable buffer zone, with threat to lives.

In one of such cases in 2019, one of the residents in a district of Phase II was desperate to catch an early morning flight at the Abuja Airport. He was faced with the alternative of waiting for a flood to subside before he crosses to the other end. In that case he will definitely miss his flight. Alternatively, he would have to take the risk of entering the flood to cross the over blotted stream, which was known to be very narrow just a day before. Despite stern advice and warning by the other residents and onlookers, the alternative to cross took his better part. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it to the other end. His remain was found later, very far away downstream.

Another episode in Suleja happened along a similar small stream in 2016. The torrential rainfall occurred in the early morning period when residents were asleep. All the houses close to the bank were completely swept before the day break. A particular family of nine who were caught unawares were all drowned. The government made declaration of banning development close to the bank of the stream, but no enforcement. The area has now been redeveloped even more than the previous.

In one of the notorious spots in Abuja, a housing estate, where flooding always occurs almost on yearly basis with loss of lives, the Development Control always encounters resistance from the house owners in the event of any enforcement exercise on the houses developed close to the bank of the stream which doesn’t have adequate buffers.

In one of our inspection visits with a combined team of FCDA and AMMC management staff, enforcement notices were served. But, before we returned to our offices, we received a telephone call from a very senior citizen soliciting for a withdrawal of the enforcement. Particularly, there was a police station with detention cells. Imagine flood occurring in the night, the inmates could get trapped. To our knowledge at the time, the police station was relocated and many of the buildings along the flood prone areas were removed. Hence, the relative silencing of floods in that estate along the Airport Road.

To be continued.

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