Floods have been a common catastrophe in Africa for a long period. In the East African region, specifically in Kenya, there have been several cases of floods in areas such as Budalangi. Sudan is also another state that recently has reported massive floods and damages.
Recently, the floods have hit the Niger’s Western area due to the overflowing of the Niger River following heavy rains.
The Results of the Floods
Due to the floods in the region, the capital is not operating and there is a devastation of homegrown rice cultures. As of late August, more than 40 people have lost their lives and over 220,000 have lost their homes.
One of the most common causes of floods is heavy rains. A region that has a poor infrastructure is likely to suffer from flooding because the water has no path to run off. Another reason is due to overflowing rivers such as the Niger River. Such kinds of rivers may have upstreams that experience heavy rainfall and hence result in the overflow.
Broken dams also contribute to flooding. This happens because there are countries that depend on ancient infrastructures that are very old. When heavy rains come and the water levels increase, old dams can be weaker and release all the water it has held.
In the modern world, the structure of urban drainage basins matters a lot. The authorities have made cities with impermeable materials. An urban drainage basin that has concrete does not allow ground for water to sink. Therefore, when the basins are full, it might result in flooding to the low-lying regions.
Storms and tsunamis are also contributors to flooding. Besides, a lack of vegetation may promote runoffs and encourage flooding.
Factors that Contributed to the Floods in Niger’s Region
Reports say that several factors have contributes to the floods of the Niger River. Some of them include soil erosion around Niamey and cutting of trees of the river banks.
The experts analyzed the situation around the Niger River and suggested ways of preventing floods in the future. They advocated for the building of strong dams that could hold a large amount of water. However, they say the best solution to the situation is reforestation. Reforestation is the process of replanting trees in a particular region.
Preventive Measures of Flooding
Apart from dams and reforestation, there are other ways of controlling floods. These involve building diversion canals and using river defenses such as levees to prevent rivers from bursting their banks.
During this pandemic, being a victim of natural disasters is far much sad. Authorities need to come up with more permanent and creative ways of stopping flooding. They should also alleviate the suffering of their citizens amid the coronavirus pandemic, which is affecting the whole world. The safety of the people should be their topmost concern because of the prosperity of a region or country starts with the state of the wellbeing of its inhabitants.
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