Urban flooding and vulnerability of nigerian cities

Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization
ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online)
Vol.19, 2013

www.iiste.org

Urban Flooding and Vulnerability of Nigerian Cities: A Case
Study of Awka and Onitsha in Anambra State, Nigeria
Kingsley Efobi * Christopher Anierobi
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Nigeria, Enugu campus
PMB 01129,Nigeria
* E-mail of the corresponding author: okey.efobi@unn.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
The climate change phenomenon with its associated increase in global temperature, precipitation and rise in sea
levels has also ushered in an increased frequency of flooding in recent times. In the year 2012, many Nigerian
cities suffered from the ravaging effects of flooding. This led to lose of lives, internal displacements, destruction
of properties, disruption of socio-economic, cultural and religious activities; and splintering of family ties. The
cities of Awka and Onitsha in Anambra state, Nigeria featured among the vulnerable cities which are susceptible
to flooding. This study set out to find out the causes of flooding in these cities with a view to recommending
measures that will help ameliorate the situation. Direct observations and structured interview methods were used
to acquire the needed primary data from residents of identified flood prone areas and in addition to secondary
data obtained from official records of the State Ministry of Environment. The result revealed that although
flooding gives the residents of Awka and Onitsha nightmares, especially during the rainy seasons; it had received
only 15% of government intervention activities on environmental problems. There is gross inadequacy in the
provision of drainage channels, coupled with poor designs, poor construction and blocked drainage channels. In
addition, houses are built indiscriminately, while solid waste disposal are not properly managed. In view of the
above discoveries, some of the recommendations which were postulated include the need to develop and
implement proactive and holistic urban flooding control and management measures which are rooted in Public
participation.
Key words: Urban flooding, Vulnerability of cities, Anambra state
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Globally, flooding has displaced more people than any other hazard or disaster. About 20% of the Nigerian
population is at the risk of flooding as concluded by Etuonovbe, 2011 who also acknowledged flooding as a
perennial problem in Nigeria which consistently causes death and displacement of communities. In 2010, lives
were lost as about 1,555 people were killed and 258,000 more displaced while properties worth billions of naira
were destroyed. Flooding is a recurring phenomenon in most cities of Nigeria. On the 26th of August 2011, the
flooding disaster which occurred in Ibadan metropolis caused monumental destructions in the city. The
continuous construction of structures on flood plains, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, excessive rainfall and
deforestation were identified as the causative factors which helped render the town vulnerable ( Khandihela and
May 2006: 276). The National Emergency Management Agency (2012) reported that the 2012 flood in Nigeria
was declared a national disaster as it affected over 2.3 million people and killed over 363 people. Some Nigerian
cities were swept off by the flood and affected 34 out of 36 states of the federation including Anambra state
which was ranked as the worst hit. According NEMA (2012), at least 68 people were killed in Plateau State in
central Nigeria and also 25 bodies found in Benue River after the flood while properties were also lost. These
occurrences show that flooding is ailing to the affected the national populace and economy; yet mitigation
measures are still poor as affirmed by Anambra State Ministry of Environment (2012), ANSEMA (2012).
Anambra state was decleared in 2012 as the most affected state in the flooding of 2012. This paper set out to find
out what makes Awka and Onitsha cities of Anambra state vulnerable to flooding. Efforts will also be made to
find out how this phenomenon can be curbed.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
The impact of flooding on any given city is dependent on the vulnerability of the area. According to Tierney et al
(2001), vulnerability to hazards and disasters is a bye product of natural events on the natural and built
environment. The word vulnerability has been defined as the degree to which a system, settlement, people or
assets is susceptible to coping with the adverse effect of natural disasters. It is function of character, magnitude
and rate of hazard to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity (the degree to which a system is affected,
adversely or beneficially) and its adaptive capacity (the ability of a system to adjust to changes, moderate
potential damages, take advantages of opportunities or cope with the consequences).

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2.1 VULNERABILITY EXPOSURE FACTORS: Types of vulnerability exposure factors include the
following.
• Individual house hold level of education, age, gender, race, income, past disaster experience; social
vulnerability: poverty, race, isolation, lack of social security service.
• Institutional vulnerability: ineffective policies organized and non committed public and private
institutions economic vulnerability; financial insecurity, GDP, source of national income and fund for
disaster prevention and mitigation.
• Physical vulnerability: This includes the location of settlements, building materials, maintenance,
forecasting and warning systems.
•
Environmental vulnerability: poor environmental condition, unprecedented population growth and
migration system vulnerability which affects utility and services in the community such as health
services that make for a resilient system.
2.2 Measuring Vulnerability:
To measure vulnerability at different scales, hazard researchers have used numerous strongly correlated
variables, such as the physical, social, economic, and political condition of the area of occurrence. Some of the
major factors which tend to increase the vulnerability of cities to urban flooding, especially in developing
countries, are poverty, poor housing and living conditions, lack of preparedness and management of flood
defenses, increasing population growth, development of squatter settlements in hazard prone regions, poor
maintenance of drainage structures, lack of awareness among the general population, and limitations in early
warning system.
A study conducted on privacy, vulnerability and the impact of flooding in the Limpopo province in South
Africa argues that while disasters may affect everyone and play an important role in increasing vulnerability,
poor people are made more vulnerable from a web of circumstances that make them prone to the effects of
disasters ( Khandihela and May 2006: 276). They established that the varying impact of floods on households
and the community at large showed that vulnerability to the effects of a flood disaster is indeed an outcome of
the interaction between socio- economic and political process.
Adamson (1983:24) also observed that extreme events such as floods over southern Africa have resulted in loss
of life, massive damage to property, crops, livestock and disrupted communications. The Laingsburg flood
disaster of January, 1981 was also described as South Africa’s greatest natural catastrophe. The flood washed
away a considerable part of the town with a loss of 100 lives. In addition, extensive damages were largely on
bridges and irrigation schemes. The heavy rains of January 1974 had a disastrous effect on the agricultural
economy of the central regions of South Africa.
Global trends suggest that flood risk is expected to increase substantially in subsequent years as a result of both
climate change and continued socio-economic development. However, the consequences of flooding can be
mitigated by appropriate behaviors and actions. Successful flood risk management is dependent upon the active
support of all on whom the effects of flooding may impact, those directly at risk, the civil authorities and the
wider community and its leaders.
2.3 SOME FLOOD LOCATIONS IN NIGERIA AND THE DAMAGES
Flood has been identified as the most commonly occurring natural environmental hazard. It normally takes place
at areas where there are water bodies such as rivers and oceans which when their banks can no longer contain
water, resulting in an overflow hence the occurrence of flood conditions. According to Ahaman (1997), flood is
a body of water, which rises to overflow and submerge surrounding lands. Floods bring about loss of lives and
properties, agricultural crops, animals and vegetation. Settlements mostly around wetlands and flood plains
regularly fall victim of flooding. Apte N.Y (2009) saw urban flooding as distinct from other types of floods. He
opined that unlike river basin floods where areas close to river banks get affected to maximum extent; urban
floods can badly affect any part of a city more significantly, especially the low lying areas. Some previous cases
in Nigeria are listed below:

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TABLE 1: SOME FLOOD LOCATIONS IN NIGERIA AND THE DAMAGES
S/No

Location of flooding

Fatalities

Cost of damages

Remarks

1

Ojirami Dam Akoko
Edo (Former Bendel
State of Nigeria)

Submergence
of
100
houses more than 500
people were rendered
homeless

Millions of Naira
worth of properties
lost.

Collapse of the Ojirami
dam.

2

Ogunpa
stream,
Ibadan, Oyo State of
Nigeria.

A total of about 50 lives
were lost in 1956, 100
people rendered homeless
in 1960 occurrence, 500
homes were damaged in
1968 occurrence, 32 live
officially lost in 1971
occurrence, 100 house
were destroyed.

Million of Naira
worth of goods and
properties were lost.

The overflowing of the
Ogunpa stream which
flow through Ibadan,
Nigeria.

3

Ilorin
Nigeria

Metropolis

Submergence
of
24,
evacuations of 56 people,
damaged farmlands and
roads.

Millions of naira.

4

Kano
Nigeria

metropolis

Loss
of
146
lives;
damaging
of
18,000
houses, washing away of
14,000
farms
and
displacement of 200,000
people

About N650 Millions
of residential and
infrastructures
and
facilities were lost.

A persistent rainstorm
caused
the
storage
capacity of Bayunda dam
of 22 million cubic litters
to be increased to 142
million
cubic
litters
(Chibuike, 1997) hence
the collapse of the dam.

5

Misan council area
of Bauchi State in
Nigeria

4 persons died, 750 homes
destroyed

Crops and houses
worth hundreds of
thousand of naira,
wasted.

Resulted from a heavy
downpour

6

Parts of Borno state
Nigeria.

Loss of 52 lives, damage
of over 170 houses.

Thousands of Naira
lost

Resulted from a heavy
downpour

7

Parts of Niger state
especially in Gawn
district of Suleja
L.G.A Nigeria.

Loss of farm crops and
farm lands.

Thousands of naira
worth of crops lost
put at N1,000,000

Heavy downpour

8

Baudu, Bunza and
Agumgu L.G.A of
Sokoto State Nigeria

300 villages and settlement
submerged

N10, 000,000 (Ten
Million Naira) worth
of properties lost

Flooding of River Niger.

9

Parts of Cross River
and
Akwa-Ibom
state, Nigeria.

130 hecters of Agricultural Millions of Naira Continuous
land destroyed, 150,000 worth of properties downpour.
farming families homeless, destroyed
500 families displaced in
Uyo.
Source: Anierobi (2010); Tabulated by Walter (2000) and adapted from Uchegbu (2002).

and

heavy

3.0 Urban Flooding and Vulnerability of Cities in Anambra State: A case study of Awka and Onitsha
The word, Anambra is derived from the great Omambala river, which is also easily called Anambra River. The
river is situated at the northern part of Anambra State and stretches to the famous River Niger. The population of
Anambra state is 4,182,032 people with a land area of 4,844km2 and population density of 863km2 (Anambra
state-Wikipedia, 2001).The state has three major cities, namely; Onitsha, Nnewi which are commercial centers
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and Awka, which is the capital territory. For the purposes of this study; Awka and Onitsha were selected as
Nnewi shares the same qualities with Onitsha. The population study for the area under consideration revealed
that Awka has a total population of three hundred and one thousand, six hundred and fifty seven (301,657)
inhabitants and comprises of two local government areas (i.e. Awka north and, Awka south local government
areas) while Onitsha has a total of two hundred and sixty one thousand, six hundred and four (261,604)
inhabitants and comprises also of two local government areas; (i.e. Onitsha north and Onitsha south L.G.A)
hence, giving the two cities, a grand total population of five hundred and sixty three thousand, two hundred and
sixty one (563,261), (National Population Commission, 2006). Direct observations and structured interview
methods were used to acquire the needed primary data from 40 residents of identified flood prone areas and from
the officials of the State Ministry of Environment. Secondary data were collected from the official records of the
ministry. The result revealed that the major causes of flooding in Awka and Onitsha cities include (i) Nature of
soil (ii) Predominant heavy rainfall (iii) Unplanned and poorly distributed drainage channels (iv) Poorly
designed narrow and shallow drainages where available (v) High population density and haphazard development
(vi) Building encroachment on drainage channels (vii) Poor clearance and maintenance of drainage channels
(viii) Non existence of drainage channels in some areas (ix) Blockage of existing drainage channels with wastes,
silt and buildings (x) Bad refuse disposal habit and Habitual dumping of refuse into drainage channels during
rainfall (xi) Institutional weakness and poor enforcement of environmental sanitation regulations in the state.
These among other natural and man made causative factors have resulted to the perennial problem of urban
flooding in these two cities in Anambra state. The attitude of residents and government in condoning these
factors can be said to be a catalyst in this event which hampers sustainable development of the cities. The
resultant deplorable environmental condition is depicted in plates 1to7.

Plate 1: The effect of flood on traffic at Eke-Awka.
Source: Anierobi (2010).

Plate 2: Effect of flood on the residents of Iyiagu, Awka

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Plate 3: The effect of flood on traffic at Iweka, Onitsha.

Plate 4: Blockage of drainage channel at Omagba, Onitsha

Plate 5: A section representing the Ariel view of the densely populated urban environment of Anambra state

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PLATE 6: Shallow and narrow Drainage Channel in the city
Channel in the city Source: Anierobi (2010).

PLATE 7: Building Encroachment on Drainage

Urban flooding was estimated to constitute only 15% intervention activities of government with no technique for
determination of frequency and nature of occurrence. Although flooding gives urban residents a nightmare
especially during the rainy seasons; there is gross inadequacy in the provision of drainage channels coupled with
poor design and construction as well as the blockage of available drainage channels with buildings and
indiscriminately disposed solid waste among others which are the greatest contributory factors in the state. 85%
of respondents claimed that some of the consequences of such flood on them include; internal displacement and
great socio-economic loses, such as personal buildings and means of livelihood while only 5% reported deaths
and bereavement. Disruption of socioeconomic activities and obstruction of traffic flow coupled with the
pollution of the urban environmental quality particularly natural sources of water was also reported; hence a
threat to health and general well being of the residents. Vulnerable parts of Awka city were also reported to
include Iyiagu, Eke Awka, Ziks avenue, Arthur Eze Avenue, Okpuno, UNIZIK junction and temporary site,
Nodu, Ifite and Amikwo. While at Onitsha, the vulnerable sections are Iweka, Fegge, Ose, Marina, Bida, Awada,
Omagba and Ochanja areas.
4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The results of the study revealed that proactive and holistic urban flood control and management approaches,
rooted in Public participation among others, are essential in addressing the major causes of urban flooding in the
cities of Anambra state. The monthly environmental sanitation exercise in the state should be resuscitated,
enforced and utilized as an avenue for the general clearance of available drainage channels and proper waste
disposal. Other mitigation measures include:
1. Effective and public oriented urban renewal exercises that can guarantee safety, functionality,
efficiency, health and comfort in the built environment of the state while the drastic construction of
canals and drainage channels should be undertaken.
2. Proper land use planning and mapping of drainage channels in the state should be undertaken, towards
sustainable flood management that ensures collection, treatment and recycling of drained waters.
3. Hydrological and ecological inventory in the state should be conducted towards adequate provision and
management of drainages and run offs which are soil type compliant.
4. Proper enforcement of waste disposal management strategies, development and building regulations in
the state must be crafted to ensure liter free environments, proper setbacks, access roads as well as
utility and facility spaces.
5.
Review and proper implementation of policies relating to flood management and delineation of flood
zones and maps, must be drafted, while adopting effective public participation techniques which will
involve the residents.
6. Sensitization and awareness creation through the utilization of local peculiarity and administrative
structures in achieving effective flood prevention and management strategies such as early warnings,

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7.
8.

9.

www.iiste.org

relocation, master plans, land use plans, creation and clearance of water ways and drainage channels
among others.
Policy on compulsory construction of houses with durable building materials away from flood prone
areas delineated for residential uses.
Efforts should be made to organize the people into groups of cooperative societies for mutual support
and benefits, through capacity building, pulling resources together, education and information sharing
and effective public participation in government programs. This will better equip them, empower and
build resilience into them, while curbing the tendency of rural-urban migration.
Infrastructure should be put in place for the harvesting of excess or flood water for human development,
through the construction of water reservoirs and treatment plants, dams for irrigation, power generation
and potable water supply for sustainable developments.

REFERENCES
1.
Adamson, T.P. (1983) Technical Report on Southern African Storm Republic of South Africa.
Department of Environment Affairs, Branch of Scientific Services.
2.
Ahman .H. (1997): “Floods”, a Paper Presented at a Workshop on the Management of the Environment
at the University of Nigeria, Enugu.
3.
Anambra State Ministry of Environment (2012) Official gazette, Awka.
4.
Anierobi Christopher .M. (2010): An Assessment of Anambra state Environmental Protection Agency
(ANSEPA) in urban environmental management of Anambra state, Nigeria.
5.
Apte N. Y. (2009): Urban floods in context of India. India meteorological Department, New Delhi.
6.
Etounovbe,
A.K.
(2011).
“The
Devastating
Effect
of
Flooding
in
Nigeria”
<http:/www.fig.net/pub/fig2011/papers/ts06jetuonovbe5002.pdf>
7.
Khandlhela, M. and May, J. (2006): A study on Poverty, Vulnerability and the Impact of Flooding in
the Limpopo Province, School of Development Studies, University of Kwazu
8.
National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA (2012): Annual report on Flood, Official gazette,
Abuja.
9.
National Population Commission, NPC (2006): Population census figures for 2OO6. Official gazette,
Abuja.
10.
Tieney, K.J, Lindell, M.K and Perry, R.W (2001): Facing the unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and
Response in the United States. Joseph Henry Press, New York, N.Y.
11.
Wikipedia, Anambra State 2001.

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