ABSTRACT
A flood occurs when a body of water overflows land that is not normally submerged. 1 Increases in the water levels of rivers, lakes, swamps, and oceans usually result in flooding of land that is normally dry. The flow of a river usually is confined to a welldefined channel. River floods occur when the supply of water to the normal river channel exceeds the hydraulic carrying capacity of the channel. 2 Heavy rainfall can cause the river to overflow into its floodplain, which is a wide flat area adjacent to the channel. Floodplains are the natural floodways of rivers, used to carry away floodwaters. Human activities often reduce the natural carrying capacity of river channels because floodplains naturally invite human occupancy. Structures such as bridges, highways, railroad embankments, and buildings considerably reduce the floodcarrying capacity of river channels. The construction of communities on floodplains further reduces the flood-carrying capacity of river channels. This is encouraged by the fact that rivers overrun their floodplains only at rare intervals. Such communities grow into large settlements, which are subject to huge losses when floods do occur. The rapid growth of cities has contributed to such developments on floodplains. The aftermath of flooding has often been destruction of buildings and the displacement of large numbers of people; the entire floodplain then requires re-planning and the buildings must be reconstructed to make them habitable again. The skills required by architects to accomplish these tasks are acquired during their training in architecture schools. This chapter examines the curricula of architectural programs in Nigerian universities to assess the extent of instruction in flood-resilient housing and reconstruction after flooding as important components of disaster management and disaster risk reduction. It appraises the need for dynamic curricula improvement in architectural education to reflect the societal needs and technological development of Nigeria.
