Topic: Flood as a natural disaster and appropriate response. (Read 116 times)

The issue of flood is very much control able because before this time there was an agreement between the Nigeria and Cameron government that as Cameron builds there dam, Nigeria too should build theirs but the Nigerian government since then build and refuse to complete theirs but small county like Cameron that even cross river state is bigger than,is able to finish two dams and Nigeria has not even finished one.
I see it in this angle that the issue of flood is laying on the  failure of the government.

I could remembered earlier month of October the flood came over my community and destroy all properties even my building was flooded, people were homeless no food, all farms where taking over by the flood the fish farm, poultry taking over by the flood and is something that is unpredictable could happen anytime., Our government fails to invest in their dams which lead the excessive inflow of water that took over our country.

 Flood as a natural disaster is not something that has a time frame to occur, it just happens. But appropriate response to it is how fast the government of a country can quickly contain it and avoid a difficult and unsafe situation for it's citizens.
It's not about establishing bodies saddled with such responsibility alone, but have them trained and equipped to be able to function.

 When the recent flood broke out, emergency agencies did little to nothing, (or assuming they did more), corrupt and greedy individuals pocketed the greater part and gave little to the affected.
Flood is a natural occurrence, but it would be appreciated if our leaders do not use it as a medium to line their pockets to the detriment of the citizens.

Flood is not an experience anyone would pray to encounter and I pray nobody should have such experience like I did with the flood that affected my locality this year
 
Like the (op) said it may come naturally or artificial by opening of dams. Whether it's comes normal or not it's ravaging effect  are still deadly
In my region this year we experienced a very big flood and it affected alot things namely
* people's dying
* wild animals in your domesticated houses(snakes)
* prices of goods and services
* people being displaced from their houses
* the high rate diseases and infections
* lost of crops and livestocks and so much more

It is annoying that this flood disaster is constant and all the government do is to give awareness of flood without making a plan on how to take care of these flood victims. Building IDP camps and provision of food is not the solution because most times these displaced people properties,crops and livestock got lost during the flood.

This year in my country the government didn't provide any IDP camp for flood victims the people were left to fend for themselves. Flood victims turned government schools into their IDP camps after which private donors came to give them relief materials. It was after this that the shameless government came around to show little concern. All these are happening because of bad government in our countries, why can't the dams issues be fixed up to avoid this yearly disaster

A few weeks ago we suffer from this catastrophic calamity, Man! it was really hard, especially for those who lost their livestock and others who also lost their homes due to flashflood. The problem is the water won't go easily because of the garbages stuck in the canals and also the bridges are inaccessible at that time and the cars are stuck as well. Too bad there are lots of casualties and in the other provinces, landslides have occurred which was the reason why our city has been declared in a state of calamity. I'm back after a week but the other people are still in the evacuation centers waiting to get help to build their homes again. That was just a traumatic experience because you are not only worried about your own life but about the lives of your family and friends as well.

Aside the opening of dams there are alot of human activities that have contributed to the occurrence of this flood pandemic, what we contributed is very large compared to the natural occurrences of flood and the worst experience is the lives it takes whenever it strikes.


There are some aspects where government fail to use or exercise their authorities and such aspect is in this kind of experience with areas prone to the disaster, if they truly mean it there's a way they can totally evacuate people in such domain, but doing that is not the worst than leaving those people vulnerable without any provisions from government to serve as alternative for them to live in.

It is not enough to announce to people to evacuate their home town and ancestry  villages to run away from flood and the government does not provide substitute home for them. Some countries don't do much about this, when home is provided it is not good enough to live in and food is far in shortage. Countries of developed countries can do better than third world countries , for example with the Ukraine war, the humanitarian support of Germany, US etc is really commendable.

Most of the countries provide shelter and food at the emergency period and the rest of their fate will be on their own hands, of course its not possible to provide new home for everyone who lost it but atleast government should take some actions against getting a job for everyone if possible. Government announce these warnings to save lives but the damages to physical properties can't be avoided.

This is a sad and hard reality of today's world that instead of working on dams and barrages for flood control the government in the developing countries keep of relocating the people in that particular time and this is literally happening every year. Each year floods are coming in developing countries but zero preparation is done on behalf of government to save people from that.  At the end of flood when everything of poor people are destroyed their houses their livestock government comes for help with meagre cash to just show their good will. The corrupt government in developing countries they don't work for the betterment of people or to improve their lives they are just there for their benefits.

Most countries, especially developing nations, have corrupt and wasteful governments that are insensitive to the plight of their citizens. Most of these countries are rich, but the wealth is not evenly distributed making the people live in abject poverty.

I have read news of countries that were warned or aware that there would be flood disasters and these governments made no provision for the people living in flood-prone areas. There was no plan to evacuate them or move them to IDP camps. The people were left to suffer without any form of assistance or help from the government. Most of them are now homeless without access to health facilities and education. The most painful part of it is that these people have continually suffered from floods for so many years without any solution from the government.

  

Which particular government are you in reference to? Some countries have good first responses for disaster cases, while some like your own maybe are really poor at it. I know cases of people who have been victims of flooding and have relocated to Temporary camps provided by the government with good support to help them through the difficult times.
When people are asked to leave their homes during a disaster, it is mostly temporary.

Flood is a disaster that is very disturbing for many people. I just think that, we just need to protect and protect our environment. Depends on the place of each environment.

Yes indeed. Avoiding problems is better than finding solutions. But, are we going to keep avoiding and not looking for a solution. There is not only one answer in this world. There are many answers and different ways for us to deal with problems.

This is what I read on one of the websites, for flood disaster management.

Make the function of rivers and sewers to function properly. Rivers and sewers are places where water flows so that it is not contaminated with garbage or becomes a final disposal site which ultimately causes rivers and sewers to become clogged.

Carry out reforestation of plants, especially types of plants and trees that can absorb water quickly.

Expand and provide open land to create green land for water absorption.

Stop building housing on the banks of the river, because it will narrow the river and house waste will also enter the river.

Stop building tall and big buildings, because it will make it harder for the earth to support its weight and make the ground level drop.

Avoid cutting down trees in the forest illegally and also on the banks of rivers, because trees play an important role in preventing flooding. Actually cutting down trees is not prohibited if we are going to replant trees and not allow the forest to be deforested.

Flood in general is a natural disaster but of course can be artificially triggered through the opening of dams and as such it leads to a lot of damages which include destruction of properties, destruction of farms and displacement of people.

Over the years, the government always warned people of flood areas to relocate and abandon their territory but what has been done to ensure that they get access to new homes and safe places to finally lay their heads is a question yet to be answered. It's a thing to ask people to leave their houses because of a threat but another thing is providing where they can be safe to call a home.

I think our attention should not only be focused on telling them about the dangers of being in the areas of flood but to provide a substantial places of more comfortability for them. "An avoided problem is much better than seeking for a solution."