Floods that are sweeping away houses, more than 300 dead and more than 100,000 people fleeing according to the authorities: The floods in Nigeria have reached extreme proportions. The civil protection authority NEMA speaks of the worst floods in decades and warns that the situation in the country of 200 million inhabitants could deteriorate further.
After a crisis meeting on Monday, NEMA director Mustapha Habib Ahmed cited the continuous rainfall since July as the reason for the flooding. As a result, the Niger and its largest tributary, the Benue, carried immense masses of water. Experts predict that several dams in Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon could overflow in the coming weeks. Large areas of arable land are already flooded, which is likely to exacerbate hunger in the region.
Warnings come too late
The three northern states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno are particularly affected. Here the doctor Yerma Ahmad Adamu is dissatisfied with the actions of the authorities. Recommendations from NEMA, but also from neighboring countries, to evacuate people to higher altitudes and to stock up on food come very late, says the senior doctor at the Yerma Memorial Hospital in Maiduguri, the capital of the state of Borno, in DW- Conversation.
Extreme weather events are increasing as a result of climate change
According to Adamu, the Nigerian authorities had warned of the floods six months ago. However, there were no concrete forecasts about the extent – forecasts that would have helped to better prepare for the disaster: “People have to boil water and the health centers should have zinc oxide ready. This is given to children and adults to protect them from diarrhea, too a combination of salt and water.”
Adaptation to climate change
Extreme weather events have increased throughout Africa in recent years – with sometimes devastating consequences. A recent report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) points to severe flooding in South Sudan, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past year, while extreme droughts have led to wildfires, particularly in North Africa.
According to the report on the “State of the Climate in Africa”, only 40 percent of the African population currently has access to early warning systems that protect them from extreme weather conditions and the effects of climate change. As a key task for the future, the WMO advises intensifying cross-border cooperation, exchanging data and expertise, and also calls for more investment in adapting to such consequences of climate change.
In addition to floods, there are also more droughts
There have been attempts to do this in West Africa for decades. Since 1980, the Niger Basin Authority (Autorité du Bassin du Niger, ABN) has brought together nine countries bordering the Niger river system.
Niger: measuring stations and flood maps
At around 4200 kilometers, the Niger is the third longest river in Africa. 160 million people live in its area, who depend on its water but also have to live with the risks. ABN division head Issa Bakayoko explains to DW the dangerous interactions between flood and drought: “In times of drought, the vegetation cover is attacked, the country is exposed to wind and rain. When it rains heavily, the runoff water washes sand and rain with it . The riverbed is silting up and the river can no longer transport the large masses of water.”
In order to be able to live with the risks, the riparian states have set up a measuring system that records the water levels and the amount of water flowing off and uses a model to calculate which water levels are to be expected when and where. They are also supported in this by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The Niger is Africa’s third longest river
The satellite-based early warning system, consisting of 27 measuring stations, makes it possible to issue precise early warnings within 24 hours, GIZ project manager Jochen Rudolph told DW. Flood maps generated from the data also allowed conclusions to be drawn as to when the population should be evacuated and at which locations.
Plan larger dams and good urban development
However, the implementation of the analysis does not always work out. These are costs that some countries simply cannot bear, says Rudolph, although the states already make a significant contribution to the costs.
Similar to the ABN, a large number of commissions work on the continent, emphasizes Rudolph. For example the Nile Basin Initiative, a commission for Lake Victoria in East Africa, also one for Okavango in southern Africa and one for the Volta river system in Ghana and Burkina Faso. But there is room for improvement: Floods could be cushioned by larger dams. “Three are being planned and are already being built on the Niger. With retention basins that prevent the runoff of water masses during the rainy season from being as great as was often the case in the past.”
But no matter how great the efforts to regulate water masses, the effects of climate change will increasingly force people to adapt. The WMO report came to this conclusion, as did the experts interviewed by DW. A good plan for urban development is of fundamental importance, especially in view of a growing population, says Issa Bakayoko: “Such a plan must define the areas at risk of flooding and keep them free as catchment areas, so it must not make them available to people to live in.” If countries can do this, it could drastically reduce the impact of flooding.
Collaboration: Antonio Cascais, Mohammed Al-Amin (Nigeria)
