Public health physicians have warned that the real danger from Nigeria’s recent floods begins after the water disappears, as contaminated floodwater, blocked drains and poor sanitation create perfect conditions for cholera, typhoid, malaria and other disease outbreaks.
Speaking on the aftermath of flooding that swept through Lagos and other parts of the country in recent weeks, a Consultant Public Health Physician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr Adedayo Aderibigbe, said the health emergency that follows flooding is often more devastating than the flood itself.
“The health crisis begins after the flood,” Aderibigbe said, noting that floodwater carries far more than rain — it carries sewage, refuse, human waste and disease-causing organisms capable of sweeping through entire communities.
He blamed blocked drainage channels, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and construction on natural waterways for worsening annual flooding, saying government investment in drainage infrastructure continues to be undermined by these practices.
“If drainage channels are properly cleared and allowed to function the way they were designed, flooding can be reduced by about 50 per cent,” he said.
According to him, cholera remains the most immediate threat after floods, driven largely by open defecation that allows floodwater to sweep human waste into wells, streams and food sources. He said typhoid fever, diarrhoeal diseases, food poisoning and malaria also rise sharply, with stagnant floodwater providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Aderibigbe called for immediate activation of disease surveillance systems rather than waiting for deaths to occur, and urged hospitals and primary healthcare centres to begin stocking antibiotics and essential medicines ahead of any surge in cases.
He also pushed for stronger enforcement of environmental laws, saying agencies responsible for sanitation and urban planning already exist but simply need to enforce the rules, including insisting on Environmental Impact Assessments before approving new developments.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) and former Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, Dr Doyin Odubanjo, said the crisis begins even before the first cholera case is reported, pointing to the anxiety and disruption floods cause for families whose daily income depends on movement and market access.
“Everything gets mixed during floods. Clean water is no longer separated from dirty water,” Odubanjo said, warning that contamination of wells and water sources happens almost instantly once floods hit.
He said flooding also threatens food security, as destroyed farmlands and lost income increase the risk of malnutrition, particularly among children, and urged Nigerians to boil or disinfect drinking water, maintain personal hygiene and use insecticide-treated mosquito nets after flooding.
Odubanjo called on government to prioritise public education, clear blocked drains quickly, repair damaged water infrastructure, and consider oral cholera vaccines for people in high-risk areas such as displacement camps.
Both experts agreed that Nigeria’s recurring floods have become a public health and socioeconomic emergency requiring year-round investment in drainage, stronger enforcement, safe water access and disease surveillance — warning that the next tragedy may be measured not by floodwater levels, but by lives lost after the water is gone.
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