West African flood deaths reveal systemic urban planning failures, climate risk, and forced evictions in informal settlements
Original framing: “Flood deaths in West African cities raise fraught issue of slum evictions” — Climate Home News
Hydrological models show that climate change has increased the frequency of extreme rainfall events in the West African monsoon belt by 15 % over the past three decades, intensifying flood risk for settlements on alluvial soils. Scientific assessments also demonstrate that green infrastructure, such as riparian buffers, can reduce runoff by up to 30 %.
The flood fatalities in West African megacities are not isolated weather events but the outcome of colonial legacies, fiscal austerity, and climate acceleration that concentrate vulnerable populations on hazard‑prone floodplains.
Indigenous flood‑knowledge, historical land‑tenure patterns, and cross‑cultural adaptation practices reveal pathways for resilient, community‑led solutions that mainstream engineering alone cannot deliver. By embedding scientific climate projections into participatory urban planning, legally recognizing customary land rights, and financing green infrastructure through regional funds, policymakers can transform the current cycle of reactive evictions into proactive, equitable risk reduction. Central to this transformation are the marginalized voices—women, disabled persons, and informal workers—whose lived experience must shape the governance platform that coordinates these interventions.