Unjust waters: climate change, flooding and the urban poor in Africa

TLDR

Urban poor in Africa increasingly suffer severe flooding, driven by climate‑change‑related storm intensity, rapid floodplain occupation, hard‑surface runoff, poor waste management, and silted drainage, with flooding manifesting as localized, stream, river, or coastal events. ActionAid aimed to map local perceptions of flood causes, adaptation strategies, accountability, and community actions through participatory vulnerability analysis in five African cities. The study employed participatory vulnerability analysis across five cities, collecting residents’ views on why floods happen, how they cope, who should act, and what community measures could be taken. While residents adapt to floods, there is an urgent need for local, national, and international governments and organizations to acknowledge their responsibility to reduce flooding and its climate‑change drivers.

Abstract

Many of the urban poor in Africa face growing problems of severe flooding. Increased storm frequency and intensity related to climate change are exacerbated by such local factors as the growing occupation of floodplains, increased runoff from hard surfaces, inadequate waste management and silted-up drainage. One can distinguish four types of flooding in urban areas: localized flooding due to inadequate drainage; flooding from small streams within the built-up area; flooding from major rivers; and coastal flooding. ActionAid undertook participatory vulnerability analysis in five African cities, to explore local people's perceptions of why floods occur, how they adjust to them, who is responsible for reducing the flood risk and what action the community itself can take. While local people adapt to floods, recognition of local, national and international governments' and organizations' responsibility to act to alleviate flooding and its causes, especially the consequences of climate change, is urgently needed.