Natural Disasters: My Country Weeps over Flood Disaster Part I

I am touched by @teamsteem's write up on "Geoengineering In The Wake Of The Storm" and I begin to wonder when all these will end. Please come with me and see what havoc FLOOD DISASTER had done to my country and indeed other African countries and other parts of the world.

This write up by @teamsteem reminded me of the flood disaster that took place in some States in my country and other countries of the world. The issue of flood disaster is growing at an alarming rate, for instance, a few years ago Nigeria had her own share of the flood disaster. It all started like a child's play and before the government could realize what was happening, it became a natural national disaster. It spread like a wild fire blown by a wild wind, many States were badly hit. These States and their environs were mainly coastal dwellers.

In preparing for floods, see what happened in some flood affected countries:

IDPs CAMPS

The flood displaced, took over and swallowed up buildings both residential and commercial houses. Residence of these areas, ended up in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps. See what poor innocent citizens are going through - they are our people, now poor, wretched and looking forward to us for assistance in all its ramifications:

Unfortunately so much funds were voted for the up-keep of the IDP camps which were not properly managed. Security of lives and property in IDP camps were nothing to write home about. Stories had it that IDP camps have become targets for the Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen armed bandits, and government of the day has not done anything to proscribe these groups whose activities are terrorism in nature, particularly the Fulani herdsmen. I am planning what I should I do to contribute my quota which was one of my numerous reasons of joining steemit, as my numerous contributions over the years has only been a drop of water in a mighty ocean, we shall discuss this in the Part II of this write up. Just follow me, so you don't miss anything.

During the period under review, people who travelled along these routes usually spent days on the roads as a result of narrow diversion tracks created by government to ease traffic but it was not adequate when compared with the four-lane-express that had existed before the takeover of the express road by the flood. In fact before the on-set of the flood, traffic on those express roads were usually very heavy and there were sometimes hold-ups or go-slow even with the four lanes. My fellow steemians, just imagine what people would have gone through with the narrow diversions that sometimes get blocked by heavy duty trucks that usually found it difficult to pass or in most cases the tyres of these trucks or even smaller cars would sink into the muddy grounds as those diversions were not tarred.

TRAGIC EVENTS AT THE TIME

I remember, as an eye-witness that many residents in an attempt to assist to alleviate travelers’ pains, brought out canoes and speed boats, but unfortunately some of them had no experience in paddling canoes. The flood was so intense that speed boats too posed danger to many travelling in them. Some of the canoes and speed boats would end up capsized, thereby drowning almost all passengers on board, leaving more casualties than survivors. It was usually an eye-saw as most casualties were mostly women and children, who could not swim. Even if they can swim, the length of the flooded waters is very long and dangerous animals in there did not spare the survivor(s). It was as a result of this that government came in to arrest the situation, which was not enough.

A lot of measures were taken such as raising the banks of the rivers to forestall further over-flow of river banks. I believe that enough measures and precautions should be taken to avert future flood disasters.

POSSIBLE CAUSES

In a recent Television Programme, the possible cause was as a result of over flow of Lake Chad Basin in which linked Nigeria, Chad Republic and Cameroon and also as a result of heavy down pour in other countries of the world, which has contributed in no small measures to the flood disaster experienced today. During the rainy seasons, the lakes and rivers tend to overflow their banks into Cameroon and Cameroon opened up its river banks into Nigeria and since Nigeria failed to plan ahead and refused to take precautionary measures, despite warnings from its neighbouring countries, it was worse hit by the flood disaster of that year and a few years later, until the government made drastic efforts to curtail the disaster temporarily.

AN AFTERMATH OF FLOOD DISASTER

Fellow steemians, I thought that flooding disaster was only peculiar to Nigeria until I witnessed many countries that were badly hit by flood disaster such as Kenya and a host of other countries where flood disaster had dealt a heavy blow on both lives property and one can see so many vehicles drowned homes and some youths/families jubilating that they were able to wed through the flooded roads successfully.

Flood disaster is a treat to the very existence of man on earth because any country visited by the “unwanted visitor” - the flood, usually makes us loose properties and suffer huge financial and material losses In most cases, losses are inestimable because all spheres of life in the environment are usually affected.

TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW

All hands must be on deck to combat the menace of flood in our society so that posterity will bear us witness that we have done our bit to ensure that flood disaster does not swallow us, especially the undeveloped countries of the world. One of the reasons why we have to act now is to reduce the number of displaced persons and refugees that always pose a lot of problems to their neighbours, other countries of the world and the society at large. Let us channel our efforts, materials, finances and resources to encourage many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in nipping the issue of flood disaster on the bud.

My fellow steemians, what is your opinion about the flood disaster that has worked serious havoc on the less-privileged in our society?

image source: PIXABAY and GOOGLE

Thank you and catch you on the other side - upcoming parts of this write-up.