From Pakistan to Florida, Ghana to Nigeria – particularly in riverine and coastal towns and cities – and many other parts of the world, floods and hurricanes – triggered by extreme weather conditions and human factors – are significantly widespread, inundating homes, communities and by extension, the Real Estate sector, which has lost property worth billions of naira in Nigeria, reports Eddy Ochigbo
The year 2022 would go down in history as year of devastating floods, hurricanes and extreme whether conditions. Nigeria is one of the countries worst hit, with a reported death toll of at least 600, thousands of property destroyed and more than two million people displaced nationwide.
In Nigeria, the floods swept through no fewer than 32 states among which are Lokoja, Anambra, Delta, Bayesa, Rivers, Nassarawa, Benue and Lagos, including parts of the hinterland. Victims and property owners are still counting their losses.
Not only will property owners face herculean tasks of rebuilding their submerged houses and estates, but properties located in such vicinity would definitely lose their value. Tenants dread living in flood-prone and weather-beaten areas for fear of disasters. Costs of property in such a high-risk areas risk are nothing to write home about, while property prices situated in less-prone-to-floods areas are usually expensive because safety is guaranteed.
In Plateau state, no fewer than 400 homes were submerged by the floods and several hectares of farmland washed away in some parts of Pilgani District of Langtang North Local Council. Communities worst hit include Zamadede, Shilur, Pishe, Agwangani and Galang. A resident of Zamadede village put it this way: “Everything has been destroyed with over 200 persons displaced following the unfortunate incident.”
The council’s Executive Chairman, Rimven Zulfa, said: “We have received reports of the flooding in the communities and would look into it and ensure that the necessary agencies are contacted so that succour would be provided to our people. We are still appealing to people living in flood-prone areas to please leave as the danger of flooding is not yet over.” He disclosed that his administration will continue to prioritize the interest and welfare of the people and would work out modalities to tackle flooding in our rural communities.
Meanwhile, the impact of the floods in the Niger Delta, particularly Yenegoa, Port Harcourt, Awka and environs is better imagined than experienced. Bayelsa’s Commissioner for Environment and chairman of the state’s Task Force on Flood Mitigation and Management, Iselema Gbaranbiri, revealed that no fewer than 300 communities and villages have either been totally or partially submerged.
He added: “Virtually all the communities and streets in Yenagoa, have either been submerged or flooded. Communities in five other local government areas, including Sagbama, Ekeremor, Ogbia, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Southern Ijaw are under water and there were reported cases of corpses washed away from the cemetery in Asokoro community in Yenagoa, raising concerns of an impending health crisis”.
As at the time of filing this report, the Bayelsa state government had assured that it would do its best to bring relief materials to flood victims, as the committee was working round the clock to address the disaster.
No thanks to the contentious debate, even now, as to whether or not, climate change is real. But there are certainly marked changes taking place in the climate across the world. These developments have a telling impact on the real estate market, touching every aspect of the industry, from declining prices of property to location and sustainability.
Higher temperatures lead to more extreme weather systems and an increase in large-scale incidents, from massive hurricanes to wildfires, from gale-force storms to flooding. The real estate market is concerned because these incidents are making it tougher to manage the costs and condition of property on a yearly basis.
An annual increase in the temperature of the planet is triggering climate-related incidents, bringing them dangerous levels of wind, rain and flooding. But an increase in temperature can also have a direct impact on the costs of managing a rental property. It is projected that more tenants will rely on electricity to power their systems to stay cool. The same goes for an increase in water usage. These trends place a higher burden on government’s scarce resources.
Recent studies focused on the frequency of hurricanes in the North Atlantic. Scientists and climatologists remain at odds as to why there is increased number of Atlantic hurricanes over the past 20 years. A rise in the frequency of hurricane activity and intensity results in a higher risk of damage to property in every ramification.
Coastal towns are often worst hit as flooding takes a serious toll on the structural integrity of property as well as increase in sea levels along the coasts due to rising temperatures. Reports show that the homes of up to 300 million people globally would fall below the elevation of annual coastal floods by 2050.
Wildfires have grown more prevalent in the same time frame. Larger, hotter and more destructive fires are destroying homes and property with greater intensity and consistency. This has been particularly troubling in the western part of the United States, where large, devastating wildfires have affected millions of acres of land and decimated millions of dollars in real estate, a proof that climate change is not a hoax.
The costs of maintaining property in all of these areas are increasing as well. Repair bills come more frequently, insurance premiums start to skyrocket, while real estate prices and rents increase in areas unaffected by the impact of floods.
Industry watchers believe that urgent steps must be taken to mitigate the disasters by going green in the real estate industry. That means smarter consumption, reducing carbon footprint and choosing better materials to construct properties that are ready to face the challenges of our climate. Energy use and manufacturing are two of the significant needed to make the world more environment-friendly.
Industry players insist that opting for smarter, energy-efficient buildings is the way to go. Tenants desire to live in well fortified properties. Unfortunately, all too often real estate investors become complacent, relying on carbon-intensive materials like concrete and steel to build today’s properties. Building materials designed to meet today’s whether conditions should become the order of day, which is why more companies are now turning to fire and heat-resistant materials.
Apart from effects of climate change, several other human factors give rise to flooding; namely, planning and land-use and the siting of property, roads and utilities. These measures play critical role in preventing floods and other natural disasters. Drainage design, capacity and the use of ‘Sustainable Urban Drainage System’ (SUDS) are essential for seamless and free flow of rainfall volumes as may be predicted by meteorologists from time to time.