Abstract
The focus of this study is to assess the 2012 floods incidence that swept the communities along the coastal areas of Nigeria as well as those along the valleys of the major rivers in the country. It was observed in the study that the floods at the valleys and downstream of River Benue were seriously devastating following the release of water from the Lagdo dam that was located at the upstream of River Benue in the Republic of Cameroon. The method of data collection employed in this study is the application of Geo-information techniques which involves the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) to capture the coordinates of 120 communities which cut across the seven LGAs located along the valleys of River Benue in Adamawa State. These communities were linked to a generated digital map of River Benue valley using ArcGIS software to assess each of the communities for flood vulnerability. Vulnerability was classified into four: highly vulnerable, vulnerable, marginally vulnerable and not vulnerable. The major findings revealed that all the 120 communities in the area were described as vulnerable to flood, that is, they are either highly vulnerable, vulnerable or marginally vulnerable. 29 communities representing 32.5% were located on highly vulnerable areas, 35 communities (representing 29.17%) were found to be located within the Benue Basin but outside the buffer zones which are classified as vulnerable areas, while the remaining 46 communities (38.33%) were located on the plains which are classified as marginally vulnerable areas. Escape routes and good sites for refugee camps during floods were also identified while database creation and analysis for flood vulnerability were also developed. It is therefore, recommended that all the settlements that were highly vulnerable be relocated to higher grounds to prevent future occurrence, while the communities that are located within the Benue Basin but outside the buffer zones should employ the use of GIS tool for effective planning and proper early warning systems.
Highlights
1.1 IntroductionIn 2012, heavy rains and the release of water from Lagdo dam upstream River Benue in the Republic of Cameroon resulted into serious floods in all the states (Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau and Kogi) that are located along the downstream of River Benue in Nigeria
The major findings revealed that all the 120 communities in the area were described as vulnerable to flood, that is, they are either highly vulnerable, vulnerable or marginally vulnerable. 29 communities representing 32.5% were located on highly vulnerable areas, 35 communities were found to be located within the Benue Basin but outside the buffer zones which are classified as vulnerable areas, while the remaining 46 communities (38.33%) were located on the plains which are classified as marginally vulnerable areas
It is recommended that all the settlements that were highly vulnerable be relocated to higher grounds to prevent future occurrence, while the communities that are located within the Benue Basin but outside the buffer zones should employ the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) tool for effective planning and proper early warning systems
Summary
In 2012, heavy rains and the release of water from Lagdo dam upstream River Benue in the Republic of Cameroon resulted into serious floods in all the states (Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau and Kogi) that are located along the downstream of River Benue in Nigeria. The 2012 flood in Nigeria was widely reported to have resulted solely from the release of water from Lagdo dam by the Cameroon (Adamawa State Government, 2012). The 2012 Adamawa flood was believed to have resulted from the combination of Lagdo dam effect and rainfall intensity as evidenced by the satellite images in Plates 1a and 1b which show the narrow river valleys of Niger and Benue in Nigeria in October 2008 and the wide expansion of the river valleys in the same period in 2012. Having discovered the State to be one of the worst flood-hit States in the country, the need to study flood vulnerability in Adamawa State
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