Lagos Floods: History, prone areas and survival tips

If you live in Lagos, you’re definitely not a stranger to floods. In fact, chances are, you’ve waded through your share of them, either by yourself or by proxy, sitting in your car while you let the poor vehicle do the dirty job. If you’ve ever been to Ogba either during or after a downpour, then you will know what I’m talking about. Days like that make me feel like my parents should have just stayed in the village, or migrated to the Republic of Benin.

And in case you’re smiling smugly because Ogba is like a landing port that leads to the trenches, wipe that silly grin off your face. Because the island is worse. Ikoyi people gaze upon darkening skies with angst and ire, wishing they could dispel it with the wave of a wand Harry Potter style before ordering a dinghy. Anybody moving to Banana Island without having aced their swimming lessons would probably find themselves having lunch at the Chum Bucket in Bikini Bottom in short order.

Gone are the days when to be called a Lagosian was a thing of pride that’d make you start feeling like a big boy or girl, on top of the world with swag in your step. Nowadays, being a Lagosian means hitting the road as early as 4 am, which is usually an exercise in futility, because thousands of other people woke up with the same idea, so all of una go just jam for inside traffic.

I mean, the government should probably put up a sign on the express that says “Lagos don full, make all of una go back”, because with the way the population is increasing, soon there won’t be any space to move around.

Then there’s the unprecedented and alarming rise of products (a refill tin of Milo is now N2,500. Kilode?), including the fare for the traffic masquerading as transport that you’re going to plant yourself in. And, as though that weren’t enough, someone brought Noah’s ark around for a spin, which everyone knows needs floods for maximum cruise control.

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History and Causes of Floods in Lagos

Generally, floods occur due to bad weather (e.g. cyclones, storms, tornadoes or thunderstorms, as well as persistent or heavy rainfall), melting snow or ice, or the sudden discharge of water. And Lagos, as it is, is no stranger to the phenomenon of floods. In fact, given that it is a coastal city next to the Atlantic Ocean and is a direct beneficiary of rising sea levels due to melting polar ice caps, they’re practically best buds. This makes Lagos extremely susceptible to severe climate change floods.

2012 was Nigeria’s worst year in terms of floods; it affected 30 states out of 36, killed 363 people, and displaced another 2.1 million. According to the National Emergency Management Agency, the floods were termed the worst in 40 years, and affected an estimated total of seven million people.

Lagos was one of the most badly hit, and its residents were gasping for breath, both literally and figuratively. In addition to the floods, there was serious gridlock on major roads and thousands of stranded commuters had to pay increased transport fares to the few bus drivers who were willing to risk the roads.

The severity of the floods was attributed to two events: very heavy local rainfall, and the drainage of excess water from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam.

And just because that was the worst doesn’t mean the ensuing ones have been good. Every rainy season, Lagos State suffers various degrees of flood challenges, which affects streets and homes, and submerges cars and other valuables. These events lead to an accumulation of flow water or cause the water levels of major riverbeds to rise, as well as to the resurgence of underground rivers.

And what causes it? Well, Lagos State, as it turns out, is partly built on the mainland and on a string of islands, and it is grappling with an eroding coastline that makes the city vulnerable to flooding. This, according to Nigerian environmentalist Seyifunmi Adebote, is caused by global warming and “human-induced action over a prolonged period.”

Sand mining for construction is a major contributor to shoreline erosion in Lagos, environmental experts have said.

A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Manzo Ezekiel, told CNN that the riverbank of Lagos’ Victoria Island is already being washed away. “There’s this problem of the river bank being washed away. The increase in water level is eating into the land,” Ezekiel said.

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Lagos also has an extremely poorly-planned drainage system, which, in some places, is even non-existent. And the ones that exist are made of concrete, which is impermeable and encourages surface flows. Faulty or ill-maintained sewer networks will also encourage floods, and the city’s structure as well means that buildings and other developments like car parks are sometimes constructed in inappropriate places such that they prevent rainfall from draining away naturally.

Lack of woodland vegetation also causes floods, because trees and other foilage obstruct surface runoffs, while tree roots absorb water from the soil. A lack of vegetation will mean that surface runoffs will be high, and rivers surrounded by steep channels may also lead to flooding because when the river overflows its bank as a result of excessive rainfall, this leads to high surface runoff.

2017 was another bad year for Lagos, flood-wise. The floods were mainly seen on Lagos Island, the major business district where paved roads and streets were flooded, and to venture out was seen as an elaborate ruse to break your neck because there was no way to tell where the road ended or the gutters started.

Some of the worst hit areas were the country’s most expensive residential and commercial real estate neighborhoods, namely Lekki and Victoria Island. But the aftermath also revealed that some lower-income slum neighborhoods with poor structures were badly affected.

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Here are some tweets for your perusal:

# Lagos Flood. Where is Ecological Fund?

— Fortis Television (@fortis_tv) July 8, 2017

FLOOD IN LAGOS: Pictures here from homes and estates of Lekki residents on Saturday sent in by a friend who wishes to remain anonymous!

— Sumner Shagari Sambo (@Sumner_Sambo) July 8, 2017

Someone paddling a canoe past Silverbird Galleria on Ahmadu Bello Way, VI, Lagos.

Insane!!!

— 20.10.2020 (@I_Am_Ilemona) July 8, 2017

Okay, that last one is just wilddddd! I can’t imagine how long that guy must have been planning that stunt, measuring each rainfall and going “no, not floody enough” until that day when he cried “Eureka!” and subscribed to his Viking spirit. But all in all, you can see how bad it is.

2021 was another bad year, as the major business districts of Lagos Island once again took an underwater voyage. In an interview with CNN, a resident, Eselebor Oseluonamhen, who runs a media firm on the mainland, lamented.

“It was very bad, and unusual,” he said. “I drove out of my house … I didn’t realize it had rained so much … There was heavy traffic on my route because of the flood. The more we went, the higher the water level. The water kept rising until it covered the bumper of my car … then there was water flowing inside my car.”

Mehn, what a way to find out that your car isn’t waterproof. So you mean the dealer at Igwe and Sons Autos lied to you? I’m shook!

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Every year!!!! Same same in Lagos!!
Nothing is ever done about flooding but to tell citizens to move…..
Pls keep your saloon cars at home o.
Even SUVs dey swim 🏊‍♂️

— Kate Amaka Henshaw (@HenshawKate) July 16, 2021

And just in case you think it’s going to get better, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. The government has blamed the flashfloods on illegal office structures and houses that were built without city permits and adequately planned drainage systems. It also cited residents’ poor waste disposal habits, as most of the city’s streets are littered with waste, which often ends up blocking street gutters and causing them to overflow.

And rather than prefer a solution, the best the state government could do has been to repeatedly urge residents living in flood-prone areas to relocate. Well, I guess that’s a solution, of some sort.

Still, it gets worse. The planned ambitious 5-mile city of Eko Atlantic, which is expected to be a modern economic hub that, once completed, will be home to a new financial district, sky-scraper office complexes, and luxurious apartments will probably make it worse. Because it is being built on over six miles of land dredged up and filled in the Atlantic Ocean, and even though it is said to be protected by The Great Wall of Lagos, a sea wall built to protect it from the surrounding Atlantic and its “worst storms”, everyone knows that Poseidon does not like being cheated.

So they shouldn’t be surprised if Aquaman shows up one day, leading the armies of Bikini Bottom. And according to some experts, the sea wall, even if it does protect Eko Atlantic from the wrath of Spongebob, will probably leave much of Lagos even more susceptible to flood.

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Did I mention earlier that it gets worse? Again, it gets worse. A study published by Climate Center, a research group, showed that low-lying coastal cities in some parts of the world may be permanently submerged by 2100. Accordingly, affected areas could sink below the high-tide line if sea levels continue to rise.

“As a result of heat-trapping pollution from human activities, rising sea levels could within three decades push chronic floods higher than land currently home to 300 million people,” the study said. “By 2100, areas now home to 200 million people could fall permanently below the high tide line,” it added.

Global sea levels have been predicted to rise more than 6 feet (2 meters) by the end of this century, and this leaves Lagos, which is reportedly less than two meters above the sea in a precarious state, given that a chunk of Nigeria’s coastline is low-lying. The UK’s University of Plymouth, in a 2012 study, found that a sea-level rise of just 3 to 9 feet (about 1 to 3 meters) “will have a catastrophic effect on the human activities” in Nigerian coastal environments.

According to Adebote, Lagos’ fate would depend on how it prioritizes this scientific prediction, and what corresponding actions are taken in response. “It is only a matter of time before nature pushes back, and this could be a disaster,” he added.

See what I said about Poseidon sending an army?

Survival Tips

I bring you update from Lagos island.😂😂😂
Swim your way home and be safe.#Lekki#Lagos

— Jae (@BelindaIjeoma) July 16, 2021

I was asked by my editor to title this section ‘solutions’, but if all that the government, the owners of the nation can tell you to do is move or be moved, then who am I, a humble homo sapien, to do pass them? Oh wait, I just checked it now, and the instruction for the title of this section is how to handle flooding in Lagos. My bad, then.

So, how to handle floods? Learn how to swim. Product Lady in the tweet above already said it; Swim your way home and be safe. Once you don sabi swim, forget it, water no go faze you again. In fact, you start looking forward to the rainy seasons, because it is a time to hone your skills in the best possible way; if you don’t do well, there are no retries.

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And for those of you that are complaining that you have property, carry it on your back. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert with all their properties on their backs; be like them. It’s time for you to stop claiming to be a Child of Israel with your mouth alone, act like one.

Or better still, stop buying or building houses in flood-prone areas. Despite the fact that Banana Island and its environs are notorious for floods, people are still flocking there because living there is a sign of class, and then after enjoying the dry months in luxury, they come running back to the mainland when the rains come. I think we mainlanders should build a huge wall with a portcullis that we drop when the rainy season starts so that they can’t come running back. You’re an islander, right? Have fun on the island. What is dead may never die.

And as for the government that could only come up with “move!”, here are some solutions you could try, Mr. Commissioner for Works and Urban Planning:

Build Dams

A dam is a giant wall built across a river’s channel to impede its flow, and they are the classic hard engineering solution to flooding problems. Water builds up behind the dam to form a reservoir which can then be steadily drained at a controlled rate over time and helps keep discharge downstream of the dam low even during prolonged heavy rainfall. And asides from being highly effective at reducing the risk of flooding, dams can also be used to generate hydroelectric power that can bring economic benefits to an area.

Diversion Spillways

Diversion spillways are artificial channels that a river can flow into when its discharge rises. These channels move the water around an area that is at risk of flooding and sends it either back into the river but further downstream, or directs into another river.

Spillways generally have flood gates on them that can be used to control the volume of water in the spillway.

Levees

This is a low wall built at the side of a river to prevent it from flooding, which can also double as a jetty. Unlike natural levees, artificial levees are larger and are generally constructed out of materials like concrete, which is resistant to erosion.

Afforestation

Afforestation involves the planting of trees in drainage basins in order to increase interception and storage, while at the same time reducing surface runoff. This reduces a river’s discharge, which makes it less likely to flood. Afforestation also prevents mass wasting, reducing the amount of soil entering the river, and keeping the river’s capacity high. It also has the benefit of creating new habitats for animals and improving water quality by filtering pollutants out of rainwater.

Wing Dykes

These are slats placed in pairs on either side of a river’s channel with a gap between them that allows boast to pass through them. Behind the dykes, sediment builds up and the channel is narrowed, which forces water to flow faster. This helps reduce the risk of flooding by getting water away from an area at risk of flooding as quickly as possible, and prevents a buildup of water. They also aid navigation greatly.

Furthermore, the government should enact laws that will prohibit people from building houses on waterways. Give Banana Island back to Atlantis as a peace offering, and see if this won’t go a long way to ameliorate the effect of floods and also help in the proactive and effective management of floods in Lagos State.

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