Flooding In Oleh Community -By Ugere Blessing Rukevwe

Oleh is the headquarter of Isoko south local government, one of the two administrative units in the Isoko region of Delta state it shares boundaries with Akiewhe. It is bounded by Irri on the East, Emede by South and Ozoro by North. It was created on the 23rd of September 1991. It occupies a total land area of 1,089kilometers , with it’s main ethnicity as Isoko. It lies within the tropics and it is characterized by tropical climate.

Flooding characterized as the world worse global hazard in terms of occurrence, damage to life and property etc, despite the use of technology to predict climate change to prevent and even control it. We are more prone to extreme climate change even more than before and all of this is due to the use of harmful gases and releasing them into the air that causes the depletion of the Ozone layer.

Some of the few causes of flooding are: 1. Extreme Climate Change

2. Release of excess poisonous gases into the air that causes heavy downpour

3. Different station marginal lands are being used to grow inappropriate crops leading to soil erosion,flash floods and rising of tides above sea level.

Over the years, some farmers in Oleh community have been experiencing flooding which has not only resulted in low crop yeild but in their income as well causing displacement of people and businesses. According to research a total of 3.15 km is flooded in Oleh during heavy rain, Hence, the main cause of flooding in oleh is heavy rain fall.

A typical example of flooding in Oleh is the flooding that occurred in 2012 and lasted between July and October which is a period of three months, it indeed affected the community; it destroyed not just household but farmland and even disrupted the activities of residents. Research shows that it is one of the worst flood that occurred in Nigeria.

Another typical example of flooding in Oleh is one which occurred in2022. It started in early summer and ended towards the end of the year, and it was said to be the worst flood since 2012 though, minor ones might have happened also. This flood has caused great damage to not just crops, but still people as well. Due to the flood farmers were forced to harvest their crops prematurely and as expected crop yield were not much, leaving farmers with little income or profits. It destroyed a lot of properties causing indigenes to move out of their homes and go elsewhere to live even schools were closed down, a typical example: Delta State University Oleh, the students were asked to return to thier various homes for safety which led to a pause in academic activities. Vehicle could no longer go in or come out of the community even some vehicles were damaged on the way. The flood also led to power outage which was said to have started since beginning of the flood till date. All of this effect greatly affected the community by putting a pause to all academic, social, and economics activities as well.

A Possible Solution As Regards The Issue of Flooding In The Community
To control or even put a stop to this issue of flooding, would be the construction of a dam. This  should be considered because the issue of flooding does not only affect the Oleh community but also communities that surrounds Oleh. This is not a temporary solution but a long lasting one that could be beneficial to both the government and the people. It also have its economic functions and also prevent future or unnecessary spending of resources on issues that concerns countermeasures to flooding and it also saves us the stress of worrying or getting worked up. There are other countermeasures to flooding like;

1. Constructing a good drinage system.
2. Enforcing strict laws to prevent deforestation.
3. Discouraging bush burning hereby reducing the quantity of harmful gases that are released into the atmosphere.

In conclusion, Oleh community is one of the most flooded local government in Delta state. Not just only to the community but also to the world at large; flooding is one of the world’s greatest natural disaster that has rendered a lot of people homeless and broke. Though it cannot be prevented, it can be controlled. Some people are still suffering from the side effects of the flooding not just people but countries as well like Netherland, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Egypt e.t.c these are countries that are mostly affected by flooding. Even I, Blessing Ugere, a student of Delsu Oleh Campus is still suffering from the impact of the 2022 flood in Oleh.