Abstract
Recent flood disasters in Benin City, Nigeria have claimed a number of lives, damaged property, and threatened the overall livelihood of residents. The economic burden of such events has forced a vast reallocation of monetary resources for clean-up and recovery, as well as forcibly altered and suspended internal trade via devastated transportation routes. Secondary trends include inflation and migration concerns. As a result, the aim has been to prioritize mitigation by examining easily read, rapidly accessible flood hazard maps, as well as assess and identify areas within the city prone to flooding. We used a number of data sources and conducted a questionnaire surveying three of the local government areas of Benin City over a two-year period. Findings indicate excessive unsustainable land use and land cover change and a flat and high water table area with close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean make the city susceptible to flood risk. Heavy rainfall and drainage system blockage are leading causes of flooding which have destroyed property and houses—two major side effects. A number of mitigation and disaster risk reduction measures were, hereafter, recommended to reduce flooding occurrence in Benin City or lessen its effects on inhabitants.
Highlights
Urban flooding is a main impact of meteorological and climatic change
The respondents were able to identify the causes of flooding in Benin City
Poor urban planning and land use (i.e., 18%) and as well as building on flood plains (i.e., 11%) were perceived among the respondents to be other causes of flooding in Benin City. This corroborates the finding that poorly executed urban renewal projects induced by reckless buildings in unapproved places are one of the banes of flooding in urban cities throughout Nigeria [20]
Summary
Urban flooding is a main impact of meteorological and climatic change. It is considered a major and serious environmental problem confronting municipal authorities in developing countries. It is a critical environmental problem and major hazard which continuously affects the effective functioning of urban environments, especially in the areas of infrastructure and service provision, which are germane to sustainable livelihood. When severe flooding occurs in areas occupied by humans, it causes loss of human life and property and serious disruption to the activities of large urban and rural communities [1]. The economy is severely affected by flooding as businesses may lose stock and patronage. Flooding is a universal reality that cuts across every sphere of human society
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