Abstract
Flooding is a phenomenon that sometimes has devastating effects on human livelihoods. Impact of floods is more pronounced in low-lying areas due to rapid growth in population, poor governance, decaying infrastructure and lack of proper environmental planning and management. Flooding is also exacerbated by climate change and inadequate preparedness. However, flooding in most Nigerian cities is a major environmental challenge that has continued to defy solution as more people are rendered vulnerable to hazards involved. The implications of recent flooding in Nigerian cities include among others; loss of life and properties, spread of diseases, deformed livelihoods, assets and infrastructure. This paper therefore provides an overview of how Nigerian cities have been affected by flood incidences. The paper contends that prevailing effects of climate change, particularly flooding affecting almost everything in cities demands urgent attention in form of environmental and infrastructure planning, effective policy, improved and effective management of ecological fund, enhanced environmental disaster insurance, effective professional practice, enhanced public enlightment programmes, integration of environmental planning and education to curriculum of schools at all levels, capacity building towards adaptation and mitigation of climate change impact. It also argued for the need to reinvent Nigerian cities through good governance towards creating sustainable cities in the country.
Highlights
A city can be regarded as a living system that is made up of different interacting parts, and functioning through the interplay of different sectors
This paper provides an overview of how Nigerian cities have being affected by effects of climate change increase in urban flood
Despite the knowledge of climate change and its impacts especially in urban environment, it is disheartening to note that, most Nigerian cities find it difficult to provide in advance resilient and adaptation measures that will cater for the hazards such as increased floods resulting from global climate change
Summary
A city can be regarded as a living system that is made up of different interacting parts, and functioning through the interplay of different sectors. It goes beyond doubt that, failure to manage the impacts of rapid urbanization in most cities is threatening human health, environmental quality and urban productivity. This is coupled with the general global climate change that is responsible for an unpredictable weather condition resulting to an increase occurrence of natural disasters, such as floods, storms and forest fires. Human activities such as rapid industrialization and urbanization, population growth, exploitation of natural resources and location of infrastructures exacerbate the occurrence of floods. This paper provides an overview of how Nigerian cities have being affected by effects of climate change increase in urban flood. A number of policy recommendations and conclusion were provided in the last section
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