Personal Flood Prevention/Sensitization Project. Any Ideas?

[Davidvictorson]

Sometime ago, I read on this forum how some parts of Pakistan were flooded. I never knew that some months later, I would be impacted by floods in my home country Nigeria. Recently, a neighbouring country released water from its dam and coupled with the heavy rainfall this year, many states were flooded. Houses, properties worth millions of dollars, and acres of farm land have submerged. Pitiably, a lot of lives have been lost. Sometimes, I blame the government. Sometimes, I want to blame the neighbouring country for releasing the water from its dam. There are times when I want to criticize the people of the affected states for building and living near waterways. But now it doesn't matter. People living in other regions of the country have felt the direct consequences of this. The whole region has been impacted and people transporting food, petrol and other essentials have either been delayed or canceled. I want to do something. And, I have been thinking real hard about how I as an individual can help ensure that this flooding doesn't recur. I do not mind writing a proposal to the government. I just need some ideas. How have you tackled flooding in your country? What works and what doesn't? Share your thoughts with me.

Image source: thisdaylive

[Note3]

You have to ask your government to learn directly from countries that have been able to cope with floods or countries whose land conditions are lower than sea level such as the Netherlands, in my opinion this is a country that has succeeded in keeping its territory protected from flooding.

I live in a city where almost every year there are floods, either because of high tides or because of high rainfall, all of which is made worse by residents who throw garbage indiscriminately and poor drainage and currently heavy rainfall due to changes in the weather extreme makes it even worse.

[bittraffic]

I guess that's how your place looks like before the dams were built by your country and the neighboring country (Cameroonian). That's the mouth of the river going to the sea? The heavy rainfall was the cause of why they released the water. They wouldn't want to wait for the dam to break otherwise it will be more catastrophic.

Old cities were never planned, it had just been created thru the accumulation of the residents its why cities have no flood control projects.
Diverting the river I think will work because they can release the water from there slowly but it would be a huge project as well that would need billions too.

[Oluwa-btc]

 Folks here can flood you them ideas here you see but Fam, you would write a million proposal to those fvckers and all they currently after is stacking those racks and bucks for the next presidential election coming up next year, they haven't settled ASSU init ? And you expect something positive still ?  A lot died already as the flood killed alot during 2AM deep in them sleep. That was painful, what's more hurting is loosing a fam 

I think they know what's best to do, the fund's are there, it's just that, they political representative doesn't gives double fvcks, what we need is good roads and good dams to channel waters away right ? The dam can also serve a s a source of 24hours electricity which we haven't had for twenty plus year's. Jump on the internet and get ideas also. We have funds to clear all this, we just lack good Political representative and governments. October has been bad one for us 2020 ( out brothers died during Endsars protest and now peeps loosing them live's with flood )

[Majestic-milf]

I don't think personally you can do anything about a matter that affects the nation. Because just as you can't control the weather when it gets extreme, or this dam that has overflown and is causing chaos now, it's the same way writing proposals can't do anything. It would only serve as thrash in their offices, because just like @Oluwabtc noted, I don't think these government actually care about the plight of its citizens.

 It's one thing to make provisions for IDPs Incase an issue like this comes up and another to actually go straight to the source and stop it totally, because the more those in power are being less concerned about the state of its people, the more lives and properties are being lost.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Folks here can flood you them ideas here you see but Fam, you would write a million proposal to those fvckers and all they currently after is stacking those racks and bucks for the next presidential election coming up next year, they haven't settled ASSU init ? And you expect something positive still ?  A lot died already as the flood killed alot during 2AM deep in them sleep. That was painful, what's more hurting is loosing a fam 

I think they know what's best to do, the fund's are there, it's just that, they political representative doesn't gives double fvcks, what we need is good roads and good dams to channel waters away right ? The dam can also serve a s a source of 24hours electricity which we haven't had for twenty plus year's. Jump on the internet and get ideas also. We have funds to clear all this, we just lack good Political representative and governments. October has been bad one for us 2020 ( out brothers died during Endsars protest and now peeps loosing them live's with flood )

I sympathize with your tragedy and support your opinion. Little depends on ordinary people. We are all noble in our desires, and everyone understands that there are flaws when any disaster happens, but the trouble is that our complaints do not change anything. If everything happens as you describe, then it is not clear what the governing bodies are waiting for in order to prevent the recurrence of floods. Maybe those figures of human casualties do not impress them? It is unfortunate that in the 21st century, during the development of various technologies, a person can still not argue with natural disasters. And the leaders of these countries are engaged in a tug-of-war for power instead of properly organizing the security of their people.

[Zaguru12]

I want to do something. And, I have been thinking real hard about how I as an individual can help ensure that this flooding doesn't recur. I do not mind writing a proposal to the government. I just need some ideas. How have you tackled flooding in your country? What works and what doesn't? Share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely the whole flood issue didn't start today, late 2019 a similar situation happened and the government didn't set up precautionary measures to help the river Bank people although there have been sever warnings by dams from Cameron and other neighbouring countries to opened there dams but they still turned a deaf ears to it. About writing to the government I think its a good idea but let tell you this many people have written to the government about flooding from my place here and what do they tell us, we should relocate people that are affect. And going about that just last month a report actually came out that the government actually released some funds to help this affected people to relocate since they already had all the damage to be done. When questions were asked around about who the funds went out to it was found out that each community had a representative and they in turn embezzled the funds ranging from beds/mattresses to foodstuffs. This representatives then went on to share these items with there political friends, some of which were not even affected with the flood.

I don't mean to discourage about finding solutions to the flood but don't rely on writing to the government because they don't care. Rather you look for people that share same believe with, then grow in numbers and bring up something to help the people even of its through fundraising

[Vaskiy]

Only way possible is through a fundraising campaign on our forum. You mentioned about the flood in Pakistan, and a campaign run for the same by irfan_pak10. Few users might contribute, maybe you can use those funds for the survival of you and few if your Neighbours and add the details to the forum.

The governments have huge responsibility, but the politicians will try to make money using it an opportunity. Even if the government release funds, it won't reach the bottom people who are the real sufferers.

[hyudien]

You have to ask your government to learn directly from countries that have been able to cope with floods or countries whose land conditions are lower than sea level such as the Netherlands, in my opinion this is a country that has succeeded in keeping its territory protected from flooding.

I live in a city where almost every year there are floods, either because of high tides or because of high rainfall, all of which is made worse by residents who throw garbage indiscriminately and poor drainage and currently heavy rainfall due to changes in the weather extreme makes it even worse.

Flood is a natural disaster that can be caused by 2 factors, namely the lack of public awareness of litter, and the geographical sector of the area that has the potential to flood due to the condition of the land which has a lower land area plus heavy rainfall. I'm sure the government has tried to deal with it, but that doesn't mean they can really avoid flooding quickly. Various solutions have been tried, but they all require cooperation between the local community and the local government. Because when they are not given facilities to dispose of their waste, this triggers them to ignore which waste should be burned and which organic can be stored as agricultural fertilizer. Well that's all the old story where the Flood from the dam has no proper drainage or clogged drains. No matter how big you submit a proposal to the government, in fact they will ignore it all. Apart from spending a lot of money, they make sure the money goes into their pockets before being distributed to the cleaning district.

[Swordsoffreedom]

The weather is becoming ever more extreme, with droughts and floods becoming increasingly unpredictable. I don't know if in developed countries they have a drainage system big enough to withstand all floods, but in countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam...Apart from the flood prevention measures, I don't see any effective flood prevention works. Even in a powerhouse like China, I still see some places where dykes break due to heavy floods and still cause damage to people in areas that flood every year. It is difficult to think of an effective method to combat floods as well as droughts.

[Doan9269]

I believe there are enough strategies to channel this tragedy with but those in the right place to do so aren't bothered maybe because they never had such experience since they are living in a conducive furnished and serene environment in the capital city, but what a pity on such perverse generation of leaders we have who don't care about what they were called to serve, but think about their largely expanding belly that could accommodate more embazzlement, the challenge is simple but those to provide solution aren't ready at all.

[Bitstar_coin]

I want to do something. And, I have been thinking real hard about how I as an individual can help ensure that this flooding doesn't recur. I do not mind writing a proposal to the government. I just need some ideas. How have you tackled flooding in your country? What works and what doesn't? Share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely the whole flood issue didn't start today, late 2019 a similar situation happened and the government didn't set up precautionary measures to help the river Bank people although there have been sever warnings by dams from Cameron and other neighbouring countries to opened there dams but they still turned a deaf ears to it. About writing to the government I think its a good idea but let tell you this many people have written to the government about flooding from my place here and what do they tell us, we should relocate people that are affect. And going about that just last month a report actually came out that the government actually released some funds to help this affected people to relocate since they already had all the damage to be done. When questions were asked around about who the funds went out to it was found out that each community had a representative and they in turn embezzled the funds ranging from beds/mattresses to foodstuffs. This representatives then went on to share these items with there political friends, some of which were not even affected with the flood.

I don't mean to discourage about finding solutions to the flood but don't rely on writing to the government because they don't care. Rather you look for people that share same believe with, then grow in numbers and bring up something to help the people even of its through fundraising

Back in 20212 this same flood issue occur which distroy properties and claim lives, render many of the river bank residents homeless, the government has been awrae of the situation and did nothing about it. AFAIK this is the third time this flood is hapening in that particular location and nothing has been done.
I can undrstand the frustration of the OP especially when people who suppose to be resonsible are too selfish and unsympathetic towards the people they sworn to be responsible for. The idea of writing a proposal or whatever it is not bad only it will not see the light of day.
This situation is not hidden to them, it does not requre any extra written reminder for them to find a way to have this major problem resolved, but this right now is not their immediate priority am afraid.

[Mate2237]

{~}

Well articulated, the government has never and ever taken the citizens for serious. They (government) takes the citizens for granted. In Africa the political promises have never and ever be implemented. If really the political promises are implemented in Nigeria this flood issue has been deal with since but irony is the case always.

The water (flood) can be stopped if only the government is ready to do it. They can produce tunnels and channel them to the sea or oceans from the Dams so that whenever the Dams are open the flood will straight to the sea not to the villages again. Now the question is how many tunnels does Nigeria have? None. African Leaders are self-centered.

[yhiaali3]

I do not expect that at the individual level you can do anything, these things need the efforts of a state and perhaps sometimes several countries to be able to control the wrath of nature in the event of a flood, many countries where such painful incidents occur and they cannot do anything and they ask for the help of the United Nations and the international community Often times to be able to afford flood damage, even developed nations suffer such things We heard a few days ago about the Arizona hurricane and the massive damage it caused.

[Fortify]

Sometime ago, I read on this forum how some parts of Pakistan were flooded. I never knew that some months later, I would be impacted by floods in my home country Nigeria. Recently, a neighbouring country released water from its dam and coupled with the heavy rainfall this year, many states were flooded. Houses, properties worth millions of dollars, and acres of farm land have submerged. Pitiably, a lot of lives have been lost. Sometimes, I blame the government. Sometimes, I want to blame the neighbouring country for releasing the water from its dam. There are times when I want to criticize the people of the affected states for building and living near waterways. But now it doesn't matter. People living in other regions of the country have felt the direct consequences of this. The whole region has been impacted and people transporting food, petrol and other essentials have either been delayed or canceled. I want to do something. And, I have been thinking real hard about how I as an individual can help ensure that this flooding doesn't recur. I do not mind writing a proposal to the government. I just need some ideas. How have you tackled flooding in your country? What works and what doesn't? Share your thoughts with me.

The best thing to do if you want to withstand any floods? Buy property on high ground and make sure you've got all the drainage sorted out correctly. Beyond that you cannot do much to withstand the elements - buy enough supplies to last you up to a month maybe, stuff that is dry but will give you all the necessary vitamins needed to wait out for things to return back to normal. Try to equip your home with things that are able to supply power, whether it is solar panels or a backup generator, they could prove invaluable in allowing you to access electricity while others are struggling just to survive. When buying a place, think about what the world is likely to be like in 10 or 20 years time, as it's rapidly changing right now.

[Rruchi man]

I want to do something. And, I have been thinking real hard about how I as an individual can help ensure that this flooding doesn't recur. I do not mind writing a proposal to the government. I just need some ideas. How have you tackled flooding in your country? What works and what doesn't? Share your thoughts with me.

I'm sorry to say but your effort alone will not amount to much if a bad government is still in power. The government know exactly what to do but this again is a result of the failure on their part to complete projects. From the news,

Records indicate that Cameroon and Nigeria were  supposed to build two dams at inception, such that the Nigerian dam, known as Dasin Hausa dam which was to be in Adamawa State, would contain water released from the Lagdo Dam at any point in time.

Read more

 Completion and fulfillment of the agreement to build a dam would have saved us the current situation Nigeria is currently in with the flood. if you are searching for ideas on what to do, you can consider writing an open or closed letter to them urging them to complete the agreement and finish the dam.

[jackg]

Old cities were never planned, it had just been created thru the accumulation of the residents its why cities have no flood control projects.
Diverting the river I think will work because they can release the water from there slowly but it would be a huge project as well that would need billions too.

From an area that has never flooded, we have a huge floodplane built really low down so that when water levels rise or the rain falls particularly heavy, all that happens is a few extra fields get flooded. I think a tiered floodplane is one of the most efficient ways of dealing with flood water in this way (and having multiple troughs and areas of vegetation to take water away before you have to panic).

Most river diversion plans are great though as it gives you an opportunity to build a deeper and wider trench that's much less susceptible to flooding surrounding areas and preventing the water from doing things like turning might also help to increase the flow of water away from properties without and increased risk of a bank breach.

[Die_empty]

I do not mind writing a proposal to the government. I just need some ideas. How have you tackled flooding in your country? What works and what doesn't? Share your thoughts with me.

Writing a proposal on how to tackle the flooding menace might not be a bad idea. It is possible that you might gather innovative ideas that would give birth to some uncommon solution to this challenge. But in this case, the government knows what to do but they have refused to do it. For me, the best option is to organize protests to show your dissatisfaction with the handling of the flooding disaster. This can attract the right attention that would make the government act fast. The national assembly is already discussing the matter in the parliament.

But the main challenge now is how to assist the victims affected by this disaster. They need all the help and assistance for them to survive because most of them lost everything in this disaster. Most of them need food, water, clothing materials, medical care, and educational services. We must ensure we support them in any way we can.

Folks here can flood you them ideas here you see but Fam, you would write a million proposal to those fvckers and all they currently after is stacking those racks and bucks for the next presidential election coming up next year, they haven't settled ASSU init ? And you expect something positive still ?  A lot died already as the flood killed alot during 2AM deep in them sleep. That was painful, what's more hurting is loosing a fam  

I think they know what's best to do, the fund's are there, it's just that, they political representative doesn't gives double fvcks, what we need is good roads and good dams to channel waters away right ? The dam can also serve a s a source of 24hours electricity which we haven't had for twenty plus year's. Jump on the internet and get ideas also. We have funds to clear all this, we just lack good Political representative and governments. October has been bad one for us 2020 ( out brothers died during Endsars protest and now peeps loosing them live's with flood )

The government knows exactly what to do but they decide not to do it. I heard that there were plans since the 1960s to construct a bigger dam that would have the capacity to hold the water released from the Cameronian dam and water would be released gradually to avoid flooding. But government prefers to abandon the project and channel its attention to looting the country's treasury.

Some persons in some quarters also believed that there is also a tribal undertone for the abandonment of the dam project. The northern religion which houses the main ruling tribe of Fulanis and Hausas has never been affected by flooding due to the release of water from the neighboring countries' dams. It was mainly the coastal areas of the countries that suffers the impact. It has been alleged that the Fulani government that has been in power doesn't care about the solution to the problem even when various government environmental agencies have raised the alarm of flood this year. The government believes that it would not affect the northern region because of its geographical features. But this year's flooding didn't just affect only the southern zones it basically started from the north. The northern states are now suffering from the same flooding the southern part has been suffering for a long time. It is now that the government wants to become reactive instead of being protective when they had the opportunity.    

[samcrypto]

I applaud the initiative but that alone is not enough to control floods and even the government can’t make any solution with this, why? Because they choose buildings over the trees and that’s what happening in my country.

We huge number of storm every year, and every year the government is trying to clean the river and the road to at least lower the flood rate but the result is still not good. Flood control is not working, drainages are full of trash and I believe this is already the problem of the people being careless with their trash. I hope you can find the solution here, ask for the government help and other volunteers, you might get the right answer OP.

[DrBeer]

I sympathize with you and your country, such cataclysms are a great sorrow, a great misfortune and great losses.
But unfortunately, FREQUENTLY, the culprits of this are the people themselves ... It's unpleasant to hear, but it's a fact. Our violence against nature, such as the creation of huge artificial water pools, very often, over the years, becomes a tragedy for those who are close by. Ill-conceived technologies, low-quality materials, corruption and lies, personal interests of someone, etc. the nuances create such delayed-action mines that are sure to "explode", moreover, it is guaranteed, but it is not known when. And if we talk about this option of flooding - there is only one way out - to move to another area where you will not live in the territory of guaranteed flooding in the event of an accident at such an object.
Once again, sorry for the bad news.