By Vincent Ujumadu
A Nigerian building construction and consultancy company, Sliding Towers Global Ltd, has attributed the recurring flooding in parts of the country to poor adherence to building regulations and urban planning standards.
The company, in a statement issued in Awka, said flooding had become a recurring feature of Nigeria’s rainy season, stressing that although rainfall often triggers flooding, the severity of the resulting damage is frequently linked to decisions made long before the rains begin.
It noted that the 2026 flood season was particularly significant, citing the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency’s annual flood outlook, which identified 14,118 communities across 266 Local Government Areas in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory as high-risk flood areas.
“Every rainy season, the images return. Roads disappear beneath water. Cars stall. Homes are submerged. Businesses shut their doors and entire neighbourhoods become temporarily inaccessible.
“Yet rainfall alone does not explain why one storm passes relatively unnoticed while another becomes a disaster. The answer is often on the ground,” the company said.
Sliding Towers identified the construction of buildings over natural waterways, disappearance of wetlands, excessive paving of compounds, blocked or undersized drainage channels and poor consideration of natural water flow in the design and development of buildings as factors worsening flooding.
“Flooding, therefore, is not simply a drainage problem; it is also a question of planning, architecture and the way we build our cities. And that means flood resilience should begin much earlier than the emergency response.
“It should begin on the drawing board,” it said.
According to the company, architects and developers should consider the topography of a site, existing drainage paths, soil conditions and potential flood exposure before determining where and how buildings should be constructed.
It said relatively simple measures could significantly reduce flood risks in vulnerable areas, including raising finished floor levels, protecting entrances from direct runoff and positioning electrical equipment, generators and other critical infrastructure above anticipated flood levels.
“Water needs somewhere to go. When almost every surface becomes impermeable, rainfall that would once have soaked gradually into the ground is rapidly converted into runoff and directed towards already stressed public drains,” it said.
The company advocated the use of permeable paving, planted areas, rain gardens, landscaped depressions and rainwater harvesting as part of building and urban designs.
It added that roof water could be harvested and reused, while site levels could be designed to slow down and safely direct excess runoff.
“Flood resilience does not mean putting every Nigerian building on stilts. It means designing each building according to the realities of its site.
“The principle is more important than any particular solution. Buildings should be designed with water in mind; not designed first and defended from water afterwards,” it said.
Sliding Towers also cautioned against viewing improved drainage solely as the construction of more concrete channels, noting that no drainage network would perform effectively if every roof, driveway, road and paved compound discharged water into it simultaneously.
It stressed that flood resilience must be addressed at four interconnected levels — the building, street, neighbourhood and city.
“A well-designed house is still vulnerable when the street outside is under water. A carefully drained office building cannot function when the surrounding road network becomes inaccessible.
“Flood resilience must therefore operate at four scales, namely, the building, the street, the neighbourhood and the city,” the company said.
It called for the protection of natural drainage corridors and wetlands, warning against treating such areas as vacant land available for development.
According to the company, parks and other open spaces can also serve dual purposes by providing recreational areas during normal weather while temporarily accommodating stormwater during periods of heavy rainfall.
“The goal should not simply be to move water away as quickly as possible, but to understand where it naturally wants to go, slow it where possible, store it where appropriate and ensure that buildings and communities can withstand the remaining risk,” Sliding Towers said.
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