Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City
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 suspe...
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Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2019-03-01
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Series: | Geosciences |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/3/136 |
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author | Giuseppe T. Cirella Felix O. Iyalomhe Paul O. Adekola |
author_facet | Giuseppe T. Cirella Felix O. Iyalomhe Paul O. Adekola |
author_sort | Giuseppe T. Cirella |
collection | DOAJ |
description | 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. |
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institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2076-3263 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:55:34Z |
publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
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spelling | doaj.art-4d158ab3eafb4d60a5e7f6f04fbae2862022-12-21T19:03:20ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632019-03-019313610.3390/geosciences9030136geosciences9030136Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin CityGiuseppe T. Cirella0Felix O. Iyalomhe1Paul O. Adekola2Chair of Transport Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, PolandDepartment of Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja 900211, NigeriaPolo Centre of Sustainability, 18100 Imperia, ItalyRecent 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/3/136floodingmitigationheavy rainfalldisaster risk reductionBenin City |
spellingShingle | Giuseppe T. Cirella Felix O. Iyalomhe Paul O. Adekola Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City Geosciences flooding mitigation heavy rainfall disaster risk reduction Benin City |
title | Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City |
title_full | Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City |
title_fullStr | Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City |
title_full_unstemmed | Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City |
title_short | Determinants of Flooding and Strategies for Mitigation: Two-Year Case Study of Benin City |
title_sort | determinants of flooding and strategies for mitigation two year case study of benin city |
topic | flooding mitigation heavy rainfall disaster risk reduction Benin City |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/3/136 |
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