Nearly 60% Say Massive Rainfall Causes Flooding in Nigeria

Natural disasters are catastrophic events with atmospheric, geological, and hydrological origins. These disasters harm lives, property or infrastructure, the economy, society, and others.

As said, these disasters are natural and unavoidable. Recently, one such disaster was flooding in Southern Nigeria. A flood that displaced over 600,000 people struck Nigeria and claimed the lives of at least 80 people, according to the country’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Regarding the cause of the flooding in Nigeria, officials blamed the ‘unusual rainfall,’ overwhelming water from rivers, and the release of water from Cameroon’s Lagdo dam. However, others have had varying opinions. Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on flooding in Nigeria to see what the public had else to say.

Interestingly, the survey revealed the following key findings:

• 56.38% feel the massive rainfall mainly contributed to the flooding in Nigeria
• 42.08% say the main effect of the flood in Nigeria was infrastructural damage
• 47.9% blame the sub-nationals (State & local governments) for Nigeria floods

Read more: Devastating floods in Pakistan claims 1700+ lives

The Nigeria Floods, Awareness, Causes & More

The survey starts with a poll about the awareness of the Nigerian floods that claimed the lives of at least 80 victims. 71.06% are aware, 19.04% are somewhat aware, and 9.9% are not aware.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) stated the main contributor to the flood was the excess water from the Lagdo dam. However, people expressed many other causes of flooding in Nigeria; massive rainfalls (56.38%), overflowing rivers (16.19%), climate change (13.63%), deforestation (4.94%), and poor water disposal management (2.5%).

Natural disasters of this sort can have fatal and damaging effects. Apart from the loss of human lives, the survey revealed that most of the damage accounted for was infrastructural damage (42.08%), agricultural loss (25.23%), loss of livestock (13.27%), sickness and infection (8.54%), and economic loss/constraints (5.08%).

Read more: Storm, Terrorism, and Plane Crash: Most Terrifying Disasters, Survey Says

Devastating Flooding in Nigeria– Who’s To Blame?

Some natural disasters cannot be avoided. However, officials can take sufficient steps to prevent the effects of the disaster from continuing. In the case of flooding in Nigeria, respondents blame the sub-national bodies (state and local governments) for the poor management of the disaster (47.9%).

Others blamed the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) for the disaster (24.35%) and the officials’ failure to implement effective guidelines (17.61%). Poor rescue efforts by emergency and first responders were also blamed (8.83%).

Surviving natural disasters require skills and quick thinking. What steps are voted the best option to survive? 44.36% suggest calling for help and staying indoors until help arrives. 21.73% suggest reaching a higher elevation point, and 20.63% suggest immediate evacuation.

On the other hand, 8.47% suggest relocating to a temporary shelter, and 3.98% suggest staying away from power lines, electrical appliances, and cables.

The Flooding in Nigeria and the Effects on the Domestic Food Economy

Food and hunger crises have been persistent issues for Nigeria. The floods will only add to the issue. Accordingly, responses from the survey suggest agriculture should be commenced somewhere safe from flooding (48.13%) or importing essential goods (21.61%). Others suggest requesting and receiving emergency relief packages from other countries (14.71%), focusing on improving rural developments (4.23%) and improving trade policies (4.04%).

Lastly, the survey respondents on whether the affected states in Nigeria handled the floods and the aftermath well. 37.21% strongly agree that they did, and 15.23% somewhat agree only. The rest disagree (9.32% somewhat disagree and 5.32% strongly disagree) that they handled the situations well.