Residents Of Flood-prone Areas Research Articles

Evaluation of Flooding on the Secondary School Students in Ogba / Egbema / Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State , Nigeria

This study evaluates the effects of flooding on the Secondary School Students in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria, which occurred in October 2012. Data of this study were obtained from questionnaires, interview, personal observation, and newspaper report. A total of 90 respondents, drawn from residents in flood prone areas, were sampled for this study. Survey method was used in the analysis of data. The result of analysis showed that floods in Omoku occurred mostly at the event of rainfall intensity and amount and especially at rainy season but this particular flood occurred in October 2012 after the main rainy season (August/September). Factors other than rainfall identified to substantially influenced flooding in the study are: lack of good drainage network, dumping of wastes / refuse in drainage and water channels, topographic characteristics, overflowing of riverbanks, low infiltration due to high water table and degree of built up areas leading to increased runoffs, and climate changes. Despite the flood hazards, occupants in flood prone area have remained on the basis of no alternative, cultural ethnic affinity, schools, family home, place where students stayed used to flooding as the whole area suffered from flooding nature of occupation, and cheaper houses to rent, animals, and farm lands which will lead to hunger in the future in those affected areas, personal properties and public infrastructures also suffered all forms of flood damages. Flood mitigation measures also include river rechannelisation, raising school foundations, use of sand bags bridges and neighbor community efforts. Public enlightenment and necessary legislation and enforcement are recommended to checkmate activities aiding flooding.

Place attachment and flood preparedness

Does place attachment and the consequent emotional connections and ties that people have with environments affect their preparedness for natural disasters, such as floods? This study took up this research question for the understudied geographical region of Orissa, India. In particular, investigation focused on three kinds of place attachment, viz. economic, genealogical, and religious. Contextualized scales for place attachment and flood preparedness were developed for a survey. Data were collected from 300 residents in flood prone areas. Validity and reliability of the scales were established. Overall, place attachment was found to significantly influence flood preparedness. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine whether the three factors of place attachment influence flood preparedness. Controlling for confounding effects of age and family type, regression analysis revealed that people having genealogical and economic place attachment prepared for floods, but those with religious place attachment did not prepare for floods. The implications of these findings for future studies are described.

People at Risk of Flooding: Why Some Residents Take Precautionary Action While Others Do Not

Self-protective behavior by residents of flood-prone urban areas can reduce monetary flood damage by 80%, and reduce the need for public risk management. But, research on the determinants of private households’ prevention of damage by natural hazards is rare, especially in Germany. To answer the question of why some people take precautionary action while others do not, a socio-psychological model based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) is developed, explaining private precautionary damage prevention by residents’ perceptions of previous flood experience, risk of future floods, reliability of public flood protection, the efficacy and costs of self-protective behavior, their perceived ability to perform these actions, and non-protective responses like wishful thinking. The validity of the proposed model is explored by means of representative quantitative telephone surveys and regression analyses, and compared with a socio-economic model (including residents’ age, gender, income, school degree and being owner or tenant). Participants were 157 residents of flood-prone homes in Cologne, Germany, a city that has traditionally been subject to minor and major flood events. Results of the study show the explanatory power of the socio-psychological model, with important implications for public risk communication efforts. To motivate residents in flood-prone areas to take their share in damage prevention, it is essential to communicate not only the risk of flooding and its potential consequences, but also the possibility, effectiveness and cost of private precautionary measures.

PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE URBAN FLOOD HAZARD IN THE GRAND RIVER WATERSHED, ONTARIO

This paper describes and evaluates physical adjustments to and institutional arrangements for the flood hazard in Bridgeport (Kitchener), Galt (Cambridge), Paris, Brantford and New Hamburg within the Grand River watershed, Ontario. Data sources included field mapping, airphoto interpretation, examination of reports, feasibility studies, legislation, regulations, official plans, budgets and expenditures, as well as interviews with selected municipal officials, provincial resource managers and administrators, and a sample of residents in the five communities. Four major trends are revealed concerning community adjustments to the flood hazard. First, there has been a changing mix of physical adjustments and institutional arrangements with the former being given highest priority by the managers and greatest preference by the residents of flood-prone areas. Second, the pattern of financing approaches the "disjointed incremental" model, and has frustrated attempts to broaden the range of adjustments. Cost-sharing arrangements have encouraged a community reliance upon physical adjustments. Third, enforcement of institutional adjustments has been inconsistent and time-consuming. Lack of adequate personnel for enforcement is a major problem. And fourth, communications between the Grand River Conservation Authority and municipal officials and individual residents is inadequate. Municipalities have been tardy in providing the information needed to make a flood-warning system effective. A recently created Citizens’ Advisory Committee has been partially successful due to differing perceptions as to what should be its role in the decision-making process.