With automatic weather stations, Oyo blazes trail in flood control

As part of efforts to curb continuous damage to properties and loss of lives caused by incessant flooding within Ibadan metropolis, the Oyo State government through its agency, Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (lUFMP), and an Indian Firm, RMSI, has embarked on scientific approach to change the narrative of incessant and ravaging flood disasters through the Automatic Weather Station which allows people to avert danger by listening to the early warning flood signals. YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports .

The ancient city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital has been identified over the years as one that is highly prone to flooding. And in the history of the state, the word omiyale is one that people will always remember with dread. The havoc wreaked by the 1980 flooding incident remains indelible , while many families are yet to recover from the damage of the 2011 flooding.

The flood incident of August 26, 2011 took more than 120 lives, destroyed 2100 houses and caused economic damage to infrastructure and agriculture to the tune of $50 million. The incident ravaged culverts, bridges and other infrastructure, sacked residents from their homes and further made the city vulnerable to more flooding events which had been a recurring issue in the city for decades.

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This was the reason the administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi set up the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (lUFMP), with assistance from the World Bank, to change the narrative of incessant and ravaging flood disasters which have been a characteristic of lbadan city from time immemorial.

IUFMP was saddled with the mandate to change the narrative of perennial flood disasters in Ibadan through systemised and comprehensive programme of actions. And as a result, the agency has reconstructed and rehabilitated many damaged hydraulic structures in the city, developed master plan, mounted engaging and sensitization projects and capacity building for response teams.

However, based on the understanding that curbing flooding goes beyond dredging waterways and rehabilitating bridges and culverts, IUFMP has set up an integrated flood early warning and response system with the aid of RMSI, a technology provider that manages risks associated with man-made and natural hazards through innovative methods and global best practices, to improve flood forecasting to communities and the government for prompt response.

The IUFMP and RMSI integrated flood early warning and response system is focused mainly on empowering residents of Ibadan on flood forecasting and preparedness, with a view to alleviating disasters  and losses that come about through flood events.

The integrated project known as Ibadan Flood Forecast, Warning Service and Implementation Support, which is based on a study of Ibadan city, is one of the initiatives of the World Bank. It is to be implemented by RMSI Private Limited in association with Enviplan International Limited, Nigeria for IUFMP with the key objective of developing a flood early warning and response system to enhance community resilience by providing adequate lead time to respond effectively to flood events and minimize losses.

Speaking at the workshop on the project as part of the deliverables of the IUFMP, the governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun, described the project as a bold step towardsthe government’s efforts at adding value to the lives of people in the state, adding that the government was  aware that IUFMP was a people-oriented project set up primarily to change the narrative of incessant and ravaging flood disasters that had been the lot of Ibadan from time immemorial.

“This project perfectly agrees with my campaign promises during the electioneering processes. Today’s workshop tagged ‘Ibadan Flood Forecast and Early Warning Service and Implementation Support Concept’ is one of the key prospects at ensuring that our people avert danger by listening to early warning signals.  Beyond building bridges, culverts, drain lines and access roads which are on their own crucial towards ensuring the good life, we as a government also have a duty to give full support to the implementation of the IUFMP, initiative that will furnish our people with prior alerts about impending flood disasters.

“This will enable our people take proactive steps for preservation of lives and properties. It is pertinent that we are able to x-ray the factors that can ultimately protect our people from vulnerability to flooding, through adequate knowledge building and information flow on impending flooding and looming dangers. Such information, readily disseminated well ahead of time, will save lives. As a government, it is pertinent to state that we expect maximum value for money to be derived from the capital committed to this assignment. This should be both in terms of immediate gains in the area of safety of lives and properties, as well as measurable capacity building for our homegrown technocrats and public servants who would be required to sustain the initiative, post-IUFMP,” the governor stated.

Also speaking, Mr Dayo Ayorinde, the IUFMP coordinator, stated that the project was designed to go beyond mere palliatives and reactionary measures to a comprehensive and multi-faceted solution to the menace of flooding, adding that the overall objective was to checkmate the attendant massive loss of lives and properties that had been witnessed at different times in the flooding history of Ibadan.

“The solutions built into the IUFMP are both structural and non-structural. While the structural includes construction or reconstruction of hydraulic and flood control structures such as dams, bridges, culverts and drainages, the non-structural ones take care largely of the human sides of flood control measures. One of these non-structural is the early warning flood forecasting and response system service which is anchored on the fact that in the event that flooding takes place in spite of all the investments in flood control, the lives and properties of the people of the state should be safe from danger,” he said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Rt. Hon. Kehinde Ayoola, stated that he was fully committed to the success of the project.  “My excitement derives largely from the fact that this is a sort of empowerment for our people to ensure that they are not left helplessly at the mercy of elements, especially as concerns heavy rainfalls that lead to flooding. An initiative whose overreaching thrust is protection of lives and properties would resonate well with our government,” he noted.

The automatic weather station (AWS) is an automated version of the traditional weather station which automatically transmits or records observations obtained from measuring instruments. The measurements of meteorological elements are converted into electrical signals through sensors. The signals are then processed and transformed into meteorological data. The resulting information is finally transmitted the by wire or radio or automatically stored on a recording medium.

According to the representative of the RMSI, the early warning flood forecasting and response system service will develop a web-based early warning system capable of providing detailed information on inundation and impacts integrated with flood forecasting system and design a warning service that will include an automated alarm system and which can be related to actual water levels and forecast.

RMSI will also design meteorological and hydrological network for Ibadan metropolis and support IUFMP in procurement and installation along with design and development of Early Warning System for Eleyele dam and Ona River basin. To make this feasible, the team has identified suitable locations within Ibadan metropolis that are suitable for 10 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) and four river flow meters as part of measures to improve weather monitoring network within the city.

The process for the operation is in four steps: rainfall and discharge data from various sources, and satellite-based rainfall will reach IUFMP data centers through RSS feed, web services or SMS based protocol. The meteorological parameters from the AWS will be picked by Weather Research  and Forecasting model which will predict the weather based on current conditions. The current and predicted weather will act as inputs to the flood forecasting model, and the outcome, a flood warning system, will be developed to disseminate flood warning to decision makers and affected communities.

The alarm system and warning is expected to prepare people in vulnerable communities on what to expect and how to mitigate the effects of flood, especially in areas where there is need to evacuate.

As flood mitigation in Ibadan moves beyond river dredging and unblocking of water ways, expectations are high that the end might, indeed, have come to flooding within the ancient capital of Oyo State.