**3. Summary of current efforts towards tackling flooding in Lagos**

For appraisal of current approaches to flood risk management in Lagos city by public and private sectors and the implications of such approaches within the

**193**

modelling.

*Flood Risk Analysis for Critical Infrastructure Protection: Issues and Opportunities in Less…*

context of global flood risk management practices, refer to Adelekan [31]. Flooding and the means of tackling its risk in the Lagos metropolis of Nigeria have received considerable attention in the literature since the last two decades, and this arguably demonstrates commitment on the part of the Lagos state government and various stake holders. Some of the ongoing practices as argued by Oshodi [32] include: expansion of drainage infrastructure within the city heartland, annual debris removal from principal drainage facilities within the city heartland, recommendation and resettlement of the dwellers of flood plains and wetlands and the residents of Ogun river catchment areas, demolition of homes in the flood prone areas. Several flood preventive and curative initiatives ranging from community selfassistance actions to World Bank assisted programmes were identified in Odunuga [26]. Recently, key initiatives which include the Drain Dock and The Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) were launched by the government of Lagos state to improve current efforts towards addressing the challenges of flooding. Action by the ministries of Environment, Works and Health as well as the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP) towards controlling flood hazard in the area including waste management programme, shoreline protection, low carbon emission, school advocacy programme and climate change club are

It can be shown that how to promote sustainable drainage infrastructure and sustainable access to basic urban services for urban residents and the general public are a top priority. Lagos state emerged as the first in Nigeria to carry out a detailed topographic mapping of the area with LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) data acquisition and GIS based analysis aimed at addressing the challenges of flooding. Although it is claimed that these measures have been preventive in context, they are unprecedented in Nigeria and clearly demonstrate practical commitment to fighting flooding [33, 34]. However, in the light of 'best practices' in flood risk reduction and 'lessons learned' from other countries' experiences of flooding, it can be argued that such measures are at best limited. Although the lack of data, lack of funds and improved technology as well as poor political will have been implicated [23, 35], flood modelling which is needed to systematically tackle flooding within the context of flood risk/hazard mapping and provision of flood data for improving the perception of flooding among the general public and to support other nonstructural approaches to flood risk reduction seems to have been ignored.

**4. Flood modelling and assessment of vulnerability to flooding for the** 

the pathway towards living with floods. Key knowledge that drives this idea is often based on flood risk/hazard maps, public opinions and specialist judgement on flooding. Within this perspective, flood modelling which predicts flood data (mainly flood water depth, duration and extent, as well as depth-averaged velocities) essentially needed for flood risk/hazard analyses, mapping and assessment plays significant roles [36, 37]. Conceptually, flood modelling may be perceived as a scientific technique that numerically or analytically solves relevant governing mathematical equations and generates computer algorithms and codes for fast, continuous and routine simulation of flood data [9]. Quick, continuous and routine provisions of flood data appear to undermine ground survey methods and remote sensing technologies, thus most evidently highlighting the relevance of flood

Flood risk reduction is fundamentally a knowledge-driven ideology that shapes

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95364*

acknowledged [14].

**Lagos metropolis of Nigeria**

#### *Flood Risk Analysis for Critical Infrastructure Protection: Issues and Opportunities in Less… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95364*

context of global flood risk management practices, refer to Adelekan [31]. Flooding and the means of tackling its risk in the Lagos metropolis of Nigeria have received considerable attention in the literature since the last two decades, and this arguably demonstrates commitment on the part of the Lagos state government and various stake holders. Some of the ongoing practices as argued by Oshodi [32] include: expansion of drainage infrastructure within the city heartland, annual debris removal from principal drainage facilities within the city heartland, recommendation and resettlement of the dwellers of flood plains and wetlands and the residents of Ogun river catchment areas, demolition of homes in the flood prone areas. Several flood preventive and curative initiatives ranging from community selfassistance actions to World Bank assisted programmes were identified in Odunuga [26]. Recently, key initiatives which include the Drain Dock and The Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) were launched by the government of Lagos state to improve current efforts towards addressing the challenges of flooding. Action by the ministries of Environment, Works and Health as well as the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP) towards controlling flood hazard in the area including waste management programme, shoreline protection, low carbon emission, school advocacy programme and climate change club are acknowledged [14].

It can be shown that how to promote sustainable drainage infrastructure and sustainable access to basic urban services for urban residents and the general public are a top priority. Lagos state emerged as the first in Nigeria to carry out a detailed topographic mapping of the area with LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) data acquisition and GIS based analysis aimed at addressing the challenges of flooding. Although it is claimed that these measures have been preventive in context, they are unprecedented in Nigeria and clearly demonstrate practical commitment to fighting flooding [33, 34]. However, in the light of 'best practices' in flood risk reduction and 'lessons learned' from other countries' experiences of flooding, it can be argued that such measures are at best limited. Although the lack of data, lack of funds and improved technology as well as poor political will have been implicated [23, 35], flood modelling which is needed to systematically tackle flooding within the context of flood risk/hazard mapping and provision of flood data for improving the perception of flooding among the general public and to support other nonstructural approaches to flood risk reduction seems to have been ignored.
