By Austin Isikhuemen
Many Nigerians confuse these two concepts. I have seen, on TV and social media, people crying that erosion has affected their streets or homes and they go on to show photos or footages. They then tell governments to please rescue them from the menace of EROSION.
A cursory look at the photo or video would show flooding rather than erosion! Yes, the government should solve the problem and save their homes from collapse and keep their streets free of storm water. But their problem is almost always NOT that of EROSION but FLOODING.
There is a difference!
Erosion is the wearing away of soil, rocks and other deposits on the earth’s surface by the action of water, ice, wind, etc. Erosion is a geological process in which materials on the surface of the earth (i.e., soil, rocks, sediments) get worn away and transported over time by natural forces such as water or wind (as in the deserts). This process can be sped up by poor management or other human impacts on land. I will come to this later.
FLOODING on the other hand, is the overflow of massive amounts of water onto land that used to be ordinarily dry. So, for example, the water that covers the road at Tomline section of Uselu in Benin City when it rains is FLOOD, not EROSION. So is the one in which the then candidate, now Governor of Edo State, stood at Boundary road before the campaigns. So you could say that that section of Boundary Road was flooded, not full of erosion!
But it must be said that flooding can, and do indeed, cause erosion. The massive amounts of soil debris and sand that a flood brings along and deposits in a place are
materials it had eroded elsewhere! But flooding is different from erosion. Flood is the overflowing water you see after massive rains and can cause a lot of damage. Erosion is an effect of flooding in places where it wears off the surface and causes erosion. Examples are the gully erosion that nearly ruined Queen Ede Secondary School in Ikpoba Hill and Costain Road area of Benin City now stermed through previous laudable government action.
Human activities contribute to flooding and erosion. For example, if a new road is constructed without proper drains (gutters) and channelled to a receptacle, that project can generate floods. Such floods will flow through the natural gradient of the earth and into homes or farms and pose a risk to any obstacle on its way. It can cause erosion along its path.
Forests are natural “absorbers” of rain water no matter how heavy the rains. Erosion hardly happens there. However, once forests are destroyed through uncontrolled human activities, flooding and, ultimately, erosion, will begin to occur. It is unthinkable for flooding to occur inside Okomu forest reserve, for example.
This is why planting trees and grass is highly recommended as ways to control flooding and erosion.
In Esanland, the old practice of Egbonughele’s weekly sweeping of the village square and thoroughfares contributed to erosion. So did the clearing and build up of what used to be forest areas without concommittant construction of drains by Local Government Authorities. Today, effects of the denudation caused by flowing storm waters (flooding) is so commonplace. We should be planting grasses and cutting them periodically as a remedial alternative.
Uncontrolled building of houses that sometimes lead to homes being built on natural waterways is a major causation factor in urban flooding. You wonder what is the purpose of Town Planning agencies and why they seem to be sleeping on their responsibilities.
Locals now sell lands and sell what ought to be roads along with them. Resulting streets are so narrow that in future, flooding control will become impossible due to lack of space for drains to be constructed!
Practices like dumping of trash inside gutters is the most unwholesome and self-inflicted activity that our people carry out and then turn around to blame the government! Even the indiscriminate use and disposal of polythene bags for every packaging chores now contribute a great deal to flooding problems caused by clogged drains. Such practices must stop.
