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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            Background of the Study

Historically, flood disasters have been observed to be on the increase due to persistent regional environmental changes and global climatic uncertainties. For that reason, flood related risks currently ranks high among the major causes of devastations that constitute problematic issues to contend with at all levels of human society; such that, developmental processes in many countries are slowed down or brought to a standstill (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC, 2013; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk ReductionUNISDR, 2015, Li, et al., 2016).  As if that is not enough, the current escalations in human population growth, demanding for socio-economic spaces with respect to human occupancy and infrastructural development, continue to place more lives and properties at risk of future flood disasters (Komolafe, et al., 2015; Kron, 2015; Li, et al., 2016). To that effect, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme – Achim Steiner, posits that “the invoice for our climate-changing emissions and ‘other human impacts’ will include more floods, droughts and other natural disasters. So, we need to ‘climate proof’ our farms, our infrastructure and our livelihoods in order to minimize our vulnerability to future disasters.”  In reality, such a call should appeal more to exposed regions of the world. Nevertheless, no nation is left out as all nations are exposed in a way, or is in danger of one form of natural disaster. It is clear from previous studies (for examples: Abam, 1995; Ologunorisa and Adeyemo, 2005; Uyigue and Agho, 2007; Mmom and Aifesehi, 2013; Tawari-Fufeyin, Paul and Godleads, 2015) that the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is challenged by a myriad of disasters, including devastating extreme natural events, which continue to render most of its sections highly vulnerable to all sorts of ecological and environmental hazards (Aziagba 1991, Oyebande and Balogun, 1992, Abam, 1995, Ologunorisa, 2004, Ologunorisa and Adeyemo, 2005, Uyigue and Agho, 2007, Ishaya, et al, 2009, Tesi, et al., 2016). Particularly, the Niger Delta region is vulnerable to climate change impacts for reasons of its fragile ecosystem, oil and gas industrial – human activities such as gas flaring which seriously alter rainfall pattern, and heighten the susceptibility of climate change and its effects in the region (Nzeadibe, et al., 2012). As a result, flood risk reduction is a concern of critical consequence within and around the Niger delta region of Nigeria. To that effect, some explanations to the peculiarity of flood type inundations and their consequences in the region have been proffered. Based on the general definition of flood – an overflow of water that submerges land or a covering by water of land that is not normally covered by water, Fubara (2014), identifies and distinguishes between three flood hazard types in the region (i) River overflow, (ii) Tidal overflow, and (iii) Meteorological flash floods. River overflow results to floods when the flowing water in the river exceeds the carrying capacity of the channel and the banks. Tidal run over occurs when gravitational pull by undersea mountains alters the local gravity field of the earth, and attractions by the sun and moon on the ocean, thereby causing water torrents to rise (flow) and fall in height. While meteorological flash floods occur in human settlements and affect infrastructure, due to high intensity rainfall, intense thunderstorms, dam break or intentional dam water release (e.g. Cameroon) which accumulate waters over impermeable surface or saturated soil, especially, when the receiving end (River Benue in Nigeria) does not have the adequate drainage capacity (Aka and Yokoyama, 2013; Fubara, 2014; Agada and Nirupama, 2015). Despite existing awareness of the peculiarity of these flood types in the region, they yet seem to be less information of adequate mitigation strategies. This was evident by the magnitude of impacts recorded in Nigeria during and after the 2012 flood disaster – over two million people were internally displaced with about four hundred lives lost and N2.29 trillion worth of properties destroyed by the floods (National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, 2013 and Tawari-Fufeyin, et al., 2015). Most states in the Niger Delta region – Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers which serves as the economic base of the nation were the most affected by the floods (Mmom and Aifesehi, 2013).