CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE INCREASING RISK OF FLOODING IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Ferdinand F. O. Daminabo1, Anthony D. Enwin
Department of Architecture
Rivers State University of Science and Technology,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
E-mail: ferdydaminabo@yahoo.com;
ABSTRACT
The United Nations Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) early this year warned on the effects of Climate Change being severe globally. There are potent and new evidences emerging from the scientific world strengthening the argument on climate change, the impact of which is likely to be erratic and very harsh. The hydrological systems in many countries and regions of the globe are going to be severely affected, just as variations in precipitation or melting ice will impact on water resources and its quality. This paper considers the potential risks of flooding in urban centres and the extended implications on rural communities and especially in the Niger Delta region. With most of the Niger Delta exposed to the coasts, the issue of submergence, coastal flooding, and coastal erosion comes to the fore because Coastal systems are significantly sensitive to changes in sea level and ocean surge.
The Urban areas and its built assets will be exposed to massive urban or coastal flooding and its large populations displaced due to land loss to rising sea levels and storm surges. With Port Harcourt in sharp focus, this paper will examine the current disposition of flooding within the urban scape, the possible causes and also look at what mitigation factors will be necessary to address the situation. With the IPCC report warning of grave danger to entire ecosystems and the built environment due to climate change, and consequent altering of hydrological systems, this paper will also consider how the fencing of properties have exacerbated flooding of properties, roads, drainages and water courses within the urban centre and remote locations in the face of anticipated extreme precipitation expected to cause both inland and coastal flooding as rivers and tributaries swell. This is based on the premise that most urban centres hold large populations and huge economic and other physical assets and this gives credence and justifies the need for this research to isolate the possible risks and proffer mediatory routes to the emerging and intractable problem.