Natural disaster is a global problem now, and there will be more in the coming years because we are complicating and pressuring nature, forcing it to take things very personally with us. In Nigeria, there was a time we didn't experience many natural disasters, and I feel sad watching videos of people in other countries suffering from natural disasters.
From wildfires to earthquakes, tsunamis, and others, these things leave ugly scars on every victim because many don't get the life they used to have again. Starting from the ground again doesn't come easy for many victims, and there are people who didn't get the privilege to start again because their lives ended with natural disasters. My heart aches whenever I hear victims stories, and I pray never to experience natural disaster.
In Nigeria today, we experience a typical natural disaster, which is a flood. We are in the season already, and it's happening in different parts of the country because of the long hours of rain. For over 24 hours now, I have been seeing videos of flooded houses on different platforms, especially on TikTok. People are sharing their experiences, and it's heartbreaking to wake up to a flooded apartment.
I would have cried my eyes out if it ever happened to me, but seeing Nigerians make fun of the situation is something I can't comprehend. It seems there are situations tears wouldn't even come, and you can't help but laugh about your problems.
Personally, I don't have a story, but many years ago, my family once went on a rescue mission for my uncle, who experienced a natural disaster. I remember very well that we did his housewarming ceremony about four months before the disaster struck, and it caught everyone unaware.
He had just completed his house because retirement was approaching and he didn't want to continue paying house rent. It was a lifelong dream to own a house as a civil servant, and he did everything possible to fulfill the dream. I was at the housewarming, and the house was beautiful; it had one of the latest interior designs then.
Switches were in the wall, bulbs were installed inside the ceiling, and the furniture was brand new, and I prayed to own something slick like that too, but four months passed, and the joy of having a new home vanished.
It was a flood; it came at midnight and destroyed everything. It almost claimed lives, but the family was swift to ask, and they spent the night sitting on their wardrobes praying that the water doesn't rise to their level.
By morning, the water level had dropped, which was when we arrived there because they needed help and we were the closest to their location. We arrived there, and I was really sad; their furniture was soaked in water, and the generator, freezer, and every other place was messed up. I watch my uncle shed tears while comforting his wife, a navy officer who was returning from a night shift.
I was moved to tears, and we could barely get things out of the house before it started drizzling again in the morning.
The experience taught me the need to always be careful when acquiring a landed property. That aside, I learned that buying land or a house is best done during the rainy season; it exposes the environment.
I don't have any survival skills against floods, and the best thing is to walk away once it happens. The impact of natural disasters varies, and we don't know why things will go out of control. Instead of risking our lives, it's better to walk away start fresh before it would be too late.
