Lessons from Alau Dam and Guadalupe …

In the last year, two devastating floods – at the Alau dam in Maiduguri and the Guadalupe river in Texas – showed how water, the greatest resource in life, can also be its most deadly force. The houses were swept away, the devastated cities and lost children.

Now, the September rains are again here. Nigeria has issued flood warnings for 11 states between 14 and 18 September 2025, warning of torrential rains and increasing rivers. The high -risk areas extend from Benue to Zamfara, including Makurdi, Rijau, Karaye, Jibia, Makira and Gusau.

The National Flood Early Warning Center has raised alarms at swelling levels in the rivers of Gloveus, Benue and Niger. Residents about the flood plains were invited to evacuate, but many may have no place to go. Without safe and clear refuges, evacuation plans, official warnings can only make so much.

The Nigeria rains season is already among the longest in Africa, up to 290 days in the South. But climate change is making storms more violent and less predictable floods. Lagos, with its 15-20 million residents, is climbing to free the exhausts as a preventive strike.

The lesson of the Alau dam and the Guadalupe river is simple: the early warning must be combined with the first actions. Preparing safe refuges, the compensation of drainage systems and the application of the subdivision into areas of the alluvial plains are no longer optional: they are survival measures.

If Nigeria does not act decisively, the September rains could turn into another season of preventable tragedy.

Build a flood resistant lagos: lessons from past disasters

As part of its push to build a flood resistant lagos and minimize the impact of floods on lives and properties, the state government has undertaken an ambitious large -scale drainage project to face perennial floods through the key parts of the metropolis.

This project includes the expansion of water channels, the updating of existing drainage systems and the guarantee of the free flow of rainwater during the strong rains. Temporary pumping stations have been established in areas such as Adniji Adele Underbridge to remove excess water and provide immediate relief to the communities concerned. The resilient drainage infrastructure is also updated in areas such as Park View Summer and Lagos Island.

The government is emphasizing adequate waste disposal and warns residents against waste dumping in gutters. Emergency systems have been introduced to notify residents of potential floods so that precautions can take and the community raising awareness campaigns are underway. The authorities are committing directly with the residents and parties concerned to underline the importance of keeping clear discharges and preventing blocks.
The government is not alone.
Some Nigerians similar to Lagos have grouped under the name -ambiental angels. It is led by Patrick Oke and includes Tayo Gbajabiamilaila, Linda Uthman, Soni Irabor and Gboyega Adelaja and your truly. The mission to illuminate the Lagosians in particular and the Nigerians in general on how to maintain our environment free from the type of garbage that could prevent the free drain flow and exacerbate the environmental challenges induced by the climate with which our country and in fact the world is struggling.

N138m Fraud Rocks Unical Asuu

All these measures are intended to prevent the useless loss of lives and properties during the rainy season and avoid the type of disasters seen elsewhere.

There is an African proverb: “Once a child is burned by the fire, it also runs from a spark”. The horrible disaster of the Alau dam remains fresh in the Nigerians’ minds: 30 lives were officially lost, but the premises estimate up to 150 deaths. States like Lagos are therefore adopting proactive measures to prevent similar tragedies. The same approach can be extended to other coastal regions of Nigeria in which emergency procedures are implemented to reduce the risk.

The flood catastrophes are not new in Nigeria. One of the most notorious was the flood of the Ogunpa river in Ibadan, in Oyo’s state. On August 31, 1980, the strong rains made the Ogunpa river overflow, killing more than 300 people and destroying the property on a large scale. That tragedy left a lasting imprint on Nigeria flood management strategies. Likewise, the disaster of the Alau dam of September 2024 has become an alarm bell for a renewed vigilance.

Climate change – and exacerbated floods – do not respect each other. Nigeria’s experience reflects that of the United States, where the Guadalupe river in Texas has catastrophicly overflowed on July 4, 2025. As in Maiduguri, the strong rains led to Rapid River Rise. At least 135 people have been confirmed death, with the county of Kerr suffering from only 117 victims. More than 12,100 structures have been damaged in communities such as Kerrville and Hunt.

According to meteorologists, the floods in Texas were triggered by a convective mesoscal vortex combined with the tropical humidity of the remains of the tropical storm Barry, which reduced four months of rain in a few days.

Together, these disasters underline the urgent need for proactive planning, resilient infrastructure and preparation for the community in the face of the intensification of climatic impacts.

River by Guadalupe against Alau Dam flooding: lessons for Nigeria

The floods of the Guadalupe river were described as one of the most fatal freshwater disasters in the United States in 50 years, overcoming the budget of the victims of Hurricane Helene in 2024. For a country in the first world like the United States, it was a greater and even embarrassing event.

Can readers wonder: what distinguishes the flooding disaster of the Alau dam in Maiduguri, Nigeria, from the tragedy of Texas? Although thousands of miles occur and in different hemispheres, both disasters have left similar death tolls and destruction in their wake.

Yet there are important differences.

The floods of the Alau dam were guided by a combination of strong rains, poor maintenance and bad management of the dam, the pavilions often linked to a weak maintenance culture in Nigeria. On the contrary, the floods of Texas have been triggered by strong rains, tropical humidity and a rare meteorological phenomenon known as convective vortex in mesoscala, a strange meteorological event rather than an infrastructure negligence.

The consequences reflected these differences. The collapse of the Alau dam caused a sudden and catastrophic release of water, hitting over a million people, moving hundreds of thousands and destroying critical infrastructures. The floods of Texas caused at least 135 confirmed deaths, with damage spread in communities such as Kerrville and Hunt, but was marked by a more gradual increase in water levels.

Even response efforts spread abruptly. In Nigeria, the rescue operations have been hindered by security challenges and corruption accusations, leaving many survivors without adequate support. In Texas, response efforts have been rapid and coordinated, with multiple agencies, including Fema, distributing resources for research and rescue.

Why emphasize these differences? They reveal the unique challenges and lessons incorporated into each disaster. The Nigerian meteorological center, for example, seems to have learned from past failures. It recently issued early flood notices that cover 11 states in September. State governments such as Lagos and Delta also seem to work to minimize the loss of life and ownership, as reflect in the relationships on the media for compensation for drainage and construction of embankment. We hope that these proactive measures also prevent the terrifying scenes of last year, when crocodiles, hippos and other reptiles were reddish in the river communities during floods.

The comparison between the disaster of the Alau dam and the Guadalupe river basin underlines a simple truth: climate change is a global challenge. But given the experience of the United States and the vulnerabilities of Nigeria, Nigeria should adopt the best practices of advanced countries rather than reinventing the wheel.

The United States, although they are also the richest and most powerful country in the world, also support themselves with deserts, from Texas al Nevada, as Nigeria deals with the Sahel in Kano, Maiduguri and Sokoto. In the same way, he has states aquatic such as Florida who reflect Lagos, the delta and rivers. The Nigerian states that share ecological similarities with the US states could adopt their development paradigms and seek tutoring to improve preparation for catastrophes.

This proposal may seem idealist, but, as the proverb says, small drops of water make an ocean. China became an economic power plant in part due to its opening to external tutoring. When the President of the United States Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, he set in motion a new era of commercial and infrastructure development, subsequently consolidated by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Just 50 years later, China raised to become the second world economy.

Learning from the United States and promoting these partnerships, the Nigerian states could transform preparation and resilience into a wider path for development. Who knows: if our leaders undertake a bold action, one day Nigeria could reflect China’s dramatic economic increase.

■ Magnus onyibo, an entrepreneur, analyst of public policies, author, defender of democracy, development strategist and pupil of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, is a scholar of the Commonwealth Institute and former commissioner in the government of the state of the delta. He sent this piece from Lagos.

Related