Understanding Flood Vulnerability in Local Communities of Kogi State, Nigeria, Using an Index-Based Approach

Oyedele, Peter, Kola, Edinam, Olorunfemi, Felix and Walz, Yvonne, (2022). Understanding Flood Vulnerability in Local Communities of Kogi State, Nigeria, Using an Index-Based Approach. Water, 14(17), 1-21

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Oyedele, Peter
    Kola, Edinam
    Olorunfemi, Felix
    Walz, Yvonne
    Title Understanding Flood Vulnerability in Local Communities of Kogi State, Nigeria, Using an Index-Based Approach
    Appearing in Water
    Volume 14
    Issue No. 17
    Publication Date 2022-09-02
    Place of Publication Basel
    Publisher MDPI
    Start page 1
    End page 21
    Language eng
    Abstract In West Africa, the impacts of flooding are becoming more severe with climate warming. Flood-prone communities in Kogi State in north-central Nigeria are affected by annual flooding and some extreme flood events. The negative impacts remain a major obstacle to development, environmental sustainability, and human security, exacerbating poverty in the region. Reducing and managing the impacts of flooding are increasingly becoming a challenge for individual households. Analysing vulnerability to flooding (a function of exposure, susceptibility, and lack of resilience) and identifying its causes using an index-based approach to achieve sustainable flood risk management were the focus of this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data from 400 households in 20 purposively selected communities. Based on expert opinions and an extensive literature review, 16 sets of relevant indicators were developed. These indicators were normalised and aggregated to compute the flood vulnerability index (FVI) for each community. This was then used to compare, classify, and rank communities in terms of their vulnerability to flooding. The results of the study showed that the selected communities were at varying levels of the risk of flooding. Four of the communities including the Onyedega, Ogba Ojubo, Odogwu, and Ichala Edeke communities were found to have very high vulnerability to flooding compared to others. Several factors such as poor building structures, lack of evacuation and flood management measures, over-dependence of households on agriculture, lack of diversification of economic activities, and weak household economic capacity were identified as causes. These findings are useful for developing flood risk reduction and adaptation strategies, such as ecosystem-based approaches, to reduce current and future vulnerability to flooding in Nigeria and other developing countries with similar conditions.
    Keyword Flood vulnerability
    Indicators
    Flood-prone communities
    Lack of resilience
    Kogi State
    Nigeria
    Copyright Holder The Authors
    Copyright Year 2022
    Copyright type Creative commons
    DOI 10.3390/w14172746
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    Created: Tue, 20 Sep 2022, 22:39:31 JST by Aarti Basnyat on behalf of UNU EHS