It is 2023 and in all my visits across the continent, I am yet to visit or live in an African city that doesn’t flood when it rains.

I know we are all excited about the possibilities of the new year, but some part of me is still stuck in the horrendous floods that plagued the south-eastern and south-southern regions of Nigeria last year — and these sad weather occurrences weren’t only in Nigeria. Douala, Kumba, Limbe in Cameroon, Kinshasa -DRC, and many others were not spared.

Taking a look at the trends and drawing from research as well as similar incidences around the world, we can all agree that these damaging phenomena are the handiwork of our dear friend, Ms. Climate Change.

While West and Central Africa prayed for some dryness, over 21 million people in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia faced a huge food security crisis. In fact, about 1.7 million people in Somalia were displaced due to prolonged drought (NASA Earth Observatory, 2022).

Before we continue, I would like to say that I am not an expert in the subject matter but having lived in several African cities, I have the authority to speak on it from my point of view and lived experience.

Let us take a look at some definitions…

The McGill School of Urban Planning defines urban planning as the “technical and political process concerned with the welfare of people, control of the use of land, design of the urban environment (including transportation and communication networks) and protection and enhancement of natural processes.”

I love this definition because it does not only capture the technical and political aspects of urban planning but also states its primary goal as being concerned with the welfare of people. So, when major streets and boulevards are designed with no pedestrian paths, I do not believe you care about the well-being of the people or think that we are not allowed to walk on streets.

I first came across the term “urban resilience” during the initial stages of planning the Congo Bulaya Project when I worked with Centre d’Innovation Lubumbashi. Urban resilience, as defined by the Resilient Cities Network, is the capacity of a city’s systems, businesses, institutions, communities, and individuals to survive, adapt, and thrive no matter what chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.

It calls for the comprehensive evaluation of the capacity and risks that cities have and are exposed to, and the intentional engagement with the most vulnerable members of the community.

From droughts to flooding, increase in internal displacements both due to insecurity and climate disasters, and rapid migration in search for better economic prospects, all these expose cities to a range of shocks and stresses — both natural and man-made — which they have to prepare for.

The image below is some facts and figures on urban challenges by the UN-Habitats Urban Resilience Hub, which also describes a resilient city as a city that “assesses, plans and acts to prepare for and respond to all hazards – sudden and slow-onset, expected and unexpected”.

Source: Urban Resilience Hub

Going by the above definitions, a city cannot be resilient without the right planning. Therefore, in the initial design process of a city, experts, politicians, and communities have to:

i) Intentionally co-create spaces and build communities that are functional

ii) Consider the welfare of the people and ensure their safety in the likelihood of a crisis, shock, or stress (be it man-made or natural).

Now, let’s explore Lagos. I have been fortunate to live in Africa’s most populous city for about 2 years now and counting. Prior to my relocation, the one thing all my research and contacts pointed to was the “Lagos Floods”.

The advice I got from friends ranged from “Make sure you find accommodation in a community that doesn’t flood” to “Don’t live on the first floor”. I have heard rumors of communities and buildings that flood so much during the rainy season that the ground floor is inhabitable.

We have seen this happen in Kinshasa and Doula as well, yet, after all these years, there seems to be no progress on this particular issue — and it goes beyond the floods. It’s the traffic in these cities, the accidents, the waste management problems, the inadequate water supply, and the noise.

I did a comparative analysis of the population growth rate of Lagos to that of London and as you would expect, Lagos has grown exponentially since the 1950s when compared to almost any European city.

In 1950, London was home to over 8,360,000 people while Lagos had a population of 325,000 people. Fast forward to 73 years later, Lagos is now home to an estimated 15.9 million people (some argue that the city is at 18-24 million inhabitants and London is at an estimated 9.6 million people).

This is a trend that goes beyond Lagos but affects all major economic cities in Africa. If these cities are growing/will continue to grow in population exponentially, then urban resilience becomes of the utmost urgency.

Have you ever wondered what would have become of Africa if the torrential rains and floods that hit Europe in 2021 happened on the continent? I have nightmares just thinking of what would happen if we had an earthquake or tsunami in these parts of the world.

The reason we experience greatly the negative effects of climate change compared to other regions is the clear lack of preparedness, lack of infrastructure, little to no planning, and snail-like steps by governments and community leaders in addressing the problems.

The 2021 World Risk Poll by Lloyd Register Foundation in partnership with Gallup gathered the polling sample from 125,000 people across 121 countries. The report covered risks across the digital world, Covid, and climate change.

The Understanding Vulnerability in a Changing Climate part of the report revealed that, in contrast to South-East Asia where 71% of the respondents asserted to be prepared in the event of a climate crisis, only 29% in West and Central Africa could make the same claim. I didn’t take the survey but I know that I am not among the 29%.

Source: Lloyd Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2021: A resilient World?

The report further assessed the confidence level of individuals in their national government, hospitals, and local government in terms of disaster preparedness.

Unsurprisingly, the confidence levels in Central/Western Africa were all below 50%, and rightfully so. Even I wouldn’t trust the dentists in the region… again, my lived experience tells me not to.

Source: Lloyd Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2021: A resilient World?

Overall, an underwhelming 56% of respondents from the region said their government did not care about them at all.

Source: Lloyd Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2021: A resilient World?

I understand that we score relatively low to other continents when it comes to responding to disasters and shocks as the most predominant form of natural disasters experienced on the African continent is flood/heavy rain followed by drought and wildfire.

Notwithstanding, statistics have shown an increase in its occurrence over the years, implying that we may soon get to the same levels as southeast Asia and other parts of the world. As such, it is of paramount importance that communities, governments, you (yes, you!), and I take intentional steps in improving our resilience ratings.

Simple things like reducing your carbon and plastic footprint, planting trees, having a plan, voting for the right representatives, and actively working with them to co-create more resilient and sustainable communities will go a long way in plugging future disasters.

Like it or not, climate change is real and disasters are bound to happen. While we can’t control when or how it happens, we can control our ability to respond to it.

I plead with all residents and governments in vulnerable communities to take purposeful action. Let us ditch the reactive mode of waiting for another rainy season to start responding to crises, for the proactive mode of planning ahead.

It is only through intentional, proactive, purposeful, and inclusive actions that we can build better communities.

Contributor: Grace Oluchi

Grace Oluchi is a Writer, Public Speaker and Impact Consultant with experience in fundraising, grant writing and community development.

She is Co-Founder, Climate Action Africa, a Pan-African climate advocacy and literacy organization leveraging technology to drive climate change awareness among African youths and women.

Grace Oluchi also serves as Executive Director, Creative Space Startups, a Nigerian NGO focused on actively creating an enabling and supportive environment for underserved creatives, innovators, and entrepreneurs, and establishing a community where they can thrive.

She currently volunteers as a consultant for several startups, impact organizations and government MDAs.