The Causes and Effect of Flooding in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State
CHAPTER ONE
Objective Of The Study
- To identify the causes of flooding in the area.
- To examine the problems and effects of flooding in the area.
- To examine the impact of flooding on the people in the area.
- To suggest possible solutions to the problem of flooding in the area.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Conceptual Framework
This study was guided by the conceptual framework that is underpinned by the vulnerability framework of Marshall et al (2010). The framework indicates the various conditions that will influence the level of vulnerability of a community.
There is a fast growing literature on vulnerability which uses terminologies such as risk, hazard, exposure, sensitivity, adaptation, adaptive capacity, resilience and coping strategies (IPCC, 2001; Tapsell et al, 2002; Adger et al., 2002; Burton et al., 2002; Brooks, 2003; Westerhoff and Smit, 2009).
According to the UN/ISDR (2004), vulnerability can be defined as the conditions determined by social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards. Vulnerability, thus, is the degree to which a system is or can be susceptible to or unable to cope with adverse impacts of hazards (IPCC, 2001). Vulnerability defines the extent to which systems open up to harm or are unable to shield itself from hazards. Generally speaking, being vulnerable is that, the more a system is exposed to a hazard, the more it is susceptible to forces and impacts of the hazards (Messner and Meyer, 2005).
In this study, vulnerability connotes the inability or the lack of capacity of a system to adapt or respond to foreseeable or present impacts of flooding incidents and hazards. The study adapts the vulnerability framework which will support the analysis on the impact of flooding and the adaptation strategies being employed to reduce the degree of vulnerability.
An individual or household is vulnerable to climate change and flooding if the risk will result in a loss of wellbeing where the individual or household is unable to cope(Heltberg and Bonch-Osmolovskiy, 2011). Vulnerability as noted, is the product of the exposure of people or systems to the impact of climate change which is influenced by the constraints they face in being able to reduce the exposure and their sensitivity and resilience. Flood vulnerability is viewed by many to be a function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to deal with flooding incidents (Ford et al, 2005; Fay et al, 2010). That is to say, vulnerability is dependent on level of exposure to hazard, degree of sensitivity to hazard and resilience or adaptive capacity of a system.
When systems are unable to stand strong through their actions to reduce the impacts of flooding, it tends to increase their level of vulnerability. Vulnerability is experienced when the interactions and actions of the members of the system, such as the central or local government, community members, etc are not directed to coping or reducing the potential impacts of the flooding incidents.
Exposure according to IPCC is the degree of climate stress upon a particular system analysis which may be presented as either long-term changes in climate conditions or by changes in climate variability including the magnitude and frequency in extreme events (IPCC, 2001). Exposure is known to be determined by the magnitude, timing and speed of climate event and the variation to which a system is exposed (Fay et al, 2010). In essence, exposure is dependent on the characteristics of the system and the attributes of the climate (Smith et al, 2003). In the community system, the level of exposure can be a condition that makes households and communities susceptible to the adverse impacts of floods hence, increasing their vulnerability. In communities, some people are more exposed to the risks of floods than others due to their location, type of buildings, occupancy and available resources.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY/DESIGN AND PROCEDURE.
This chapter exposes the design, sample and other things used in the research to achieve the desired result. The study will identify whether flood occurs naturally or it is man-made. It will also identify the health hazards associated with flood on health and development.
Design of Study.
It is a term used to describe a number of decisions which need to be taken regarding the collection of data before they are collected. (Nwana, 1981). It provides guidelines which direct the researcher towards solving the research problem and may vary depending on the nature of the problem being studied. According to Okaja ( 2003, p. 2),” research design means the structuring of investigation aimed at identifying variables and their relationship, it is used for the purpose of obtaining data to enable the investigator test hypothesis or answer research question by providing procedural outline for conducting research”. It is therefore, an outline or scheme that serves as a useful guide to the researcher in his efforts to generate data for his study. The research therefore, adopted the survey method in data collection. It is used to obtain the peoples opinion through questionnaire.
The main research design adopted for solving the problem was the descriptive research design.
Population of the Study.
This research was carried out in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State with an estimated population of 3000. The inhabitants of the community are the people of from the local government and few non-indigene who could not afford the living condition of the Siluko road, Ugbowo, Adolor and Uwelu Road. and are in Edo state for employment or business, they are mostly Christians and they understand each other’s language .
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT.
This chapter contains the data which were collected from the respondents. 200 structured questionnaire were distributed to the respondents with 58%(116) respondents being females and 42% (54) being males. 25% of the total respondents were within the age bracket of 26-35 years, another 25% were respondents within the age bracket of 46-55years while the remaining 50% (100) went to respondents in the age bracket of 36-45 years.
Note:
Where FA– represents number females who agreed.
FD– represents females who disagreed.
MA– represents males who agreed.
MD -represents males who disagreed
Distribution of respondents on the basis of physical health implications with respect to sex of the respondents.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, SUMMARY , CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION.
Research Finding
From the responses gotten from the respondents, the following findings were made;
- Most of the respondents are faced with physical health implications of flood and malaria is the commonest health implication they are faced with.
- Most of the people believe that flood occurs as a result of man’s activities in his environment.
- Flood cause damages to the environment which could lead to environmental degradation.
- We can prevent flood disaster occurrence through;
- The activities of the state ministry of environment.
- Through enforcement of environmental laws.
- Proper environmental monitoring.
Summary
The project work was carried out to assess the causes and health implications of flood. The research design was the descriptive research design. The universe of study was Three thousand (3000) out of which stratified random sampling technique was adopted to select two hundred (200) as a sampling unit for the study. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire and the data collected were analyzed with chi-square.
Conclusion
This study has explored the conditions to which members of a flood prone community are exposed resulting in vulnerability to the hazards of flooding. Through the results and discussions in the preceding chapters, the study has realized that households and community members have some coping mechanisms to reduce their vulnerability.
Depending on one’s local knowledge of drainage for early warning and monitoring these copping measures are adequate as temporary measures under the immediacy of the problem, they are not ideal as the long term solutions to the problem which is moving the occupants, unless infrastructure measures can be built to cope with the floods. In some instances these temporary copping measures create unexpected challenges.
Public Health implication of the Study
As public health officers, we deal with the preventive measures of health related problems we advice people who stay in flood prone communities to try and sanitize their gutters properly so as to enable the channels flow properly, we also advice them to take good care of their environment as flood could lead to accumulation of stagnant water which would breed mosquitoes that can cause malaria. If the various ways of avoiding being vulnerable to flood doesn’t work, the key advice is to relocate to an area that is not prone to flood.
Recommendations
From the causes and implications of flood disaster occurrence highlighted in the study, the following recommendations were made.
Recommendations to Household and Community Members
Attitudinal change on indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drainage facilities and flood waters is critical in reducing the impacts of flooding incidents. Community members must be encouraged to build elevated structures (on stilts) to ensure that flood waters do not enter their rooms and to allow free flow of water. Community members should be educated on their contribution in increasing the negative effects of climate change and flooding. The use of radio, television and newspapers will be helpful for community members to understand climate change and the impacts of flooding and the role human activities play in exacerbating the situation. Again, these media could be used to disseminate early warnings to community members.
Communities prone to flooding would need to make good use of education on flooding, make good use of safe measures identified and relocate their valuables before heavy rains starts or rivers overflow their banks, to avoid the destruction of life and property during flood disasters. Preferably, community members should be able to plan ahead of flood incidents to avoid unexpected cost and expenses.
Community Action Plans are critical in ensuring that the problems of communities are systematically addressed. Community Watch committees that protect drainage systems and waterways from unauthorized constructions and dumping, could also play and major contributory role to minimizing flood damage.
Recommendations to Local Government
Local government should make spatial and land use planning a priority on its development agenda. It can be observed that, most of the flood-prone communities are not well-planned. Houses and structures built in the flood prone communities are haphazard and weak. Further, there are inadequate drainage systems, hence increasing the level of exposure and vulnerability. When local authorities ensure effective implementation of spatial plans, the conflicts that arise from demolition will be minimized.
Promote community involvement in infrastructural planning and spatial and land use planning. Reducing flood risk and vulnerability in flood-prone communities requires a participatory approach. It is imperative that adaptation mechanisms encompass the local community members. A critical lesson for local authorities is that, it is difficult to accomplish flood risk and vulnerability reduction plans with a top-down approach. Community involvement and engagement produces the desired results in reducing flooding. It is important to note that, community members also contribute to the causes of flooding in their communities. Indiscriminate dumping of refuse, building without permit, building on waterways and among others are some of the man-made activities that contribute to flooding. Public awareness and flood reduction campaign, adequate formal and non-formal education, and regular transparent information dissemination are also essential lessons for local government authorities for m community participation.
Limitations
In the research work, the researcher encountered some short comings of limitation in terms of both mental and physical input which prevented this work from being as perfect as it was intended to be.
Such factors as financial constrain, as it was self sponsored. Time was also a problem during the study. The researcher also found it difficult getting information from some areas in the community because the roads were bad and they were not motor able as a result of flood and some of the inhabitants relocated to some camps that were created for them by the state. In spite of these limitations, the results can still be a true representation of the facts.
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