An Assessment Of The Causes And Health Implications Of Flood Disaster On Health And Development

An Assessment Of The Causes And Health Implications Of Flood Disaster On Health And Development
Abstract
Flooding is considered as one of the most hazardous, frequent, and widespread natural disasters and yet, floods seem to be part of the lives of some communities in the world. It is imperative that, national and local governments take the necessary steps to ensure that the degree of vulnerability emanating from climate change and its associated risks are significantly reduced. The purpose of this study was to identify the causes and health implications of flood disaster on health and life of people of Oko-Anala with a view of offering control and preventive measures of future occurrences of the disaster. A total of 134 respondents were selected from the population figure out of which the sample size was determined. The primary source of data collected was mainly the use of a structured questionnaire which was designed to elicit information on an assessment of the causes, health implications, and health outcomes of the flood disaster. The analyses of collected data revealed that the health implications differ according to age. The study concludes that communities that have experienced flood have suffered from developmental setbacks as a result of persistent floods, thus affecting the livelihoods and general well-being of the people. In the absence of pre-surveillance data, which is a big issue in Nigeria and other developing countries, risk assessment becomes very difficult to address. In this way, public health centres can competitively cater for the urban poor communities, providing them with rapid implementation of control measures in disease outbreaks following flood disasters.
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
African countries have been identified as amongst the most vulnerable places in the world due to climate change and climate variability, anthropogenic activities are a contributory cause to the extreme rise in global atmospheric temperature and the resulting climate change phenomena (IPCC{intergovernmental panel on climate change}, 2007). Flooding disaster is when a place that is normally dry becomes filled or covered with water (Oxford advanced learner dictionary). The main characteristics of these changes in climate are the increases in the average global temperature (global warming), changes in cloud cover and precipitation particularly over land; melting of ice caps and glaciers and reduced snow cover (UNFCC{united nation framework convention on climate change}, 2007).
In cities, these effects make communities vulnerable to climate change. In other words, climate change becomes a global threat to human survival. It is therefore imperative that, national and local governments take the necessary steps to ensure that the degree of vulnerability emanating from climate change and its associated risks are significantly reduced. Flooding has serious effects on the social, economic, environmental, physical and psychological wellbeing of people and even on the political and institutional levels of a country.
It is therefore, urgent that the vulnerability of developing countries to climate change is reduced and their capacity to adapt is increased at national, regional and community levels (UNFCCC, 2007). General climate changes (measured by temperature, precipitation, and number of rain days per year) show a positive and significant relationship with flooding and related extreme events.
Flooding is considered as a primary example of climate change related events in all parts of the world (IPCC, 2007). It is often argued that the more severe temperature levels vary, the higher the level of precipitation, and the more rain days per year the higher the risk of flooding.
Flooding is considered as one of the most hazardous, frequent and widespread natural disasters and yet, floods seem to be part of the lives of some communities in the world (Lawford et al, 1995; Dar and Nadargi, 2001; Schanze et al, 2006). Flooding mostly exacts adverse socio-economic impact on the wellbeing of flood prone communities. It does cause displacement of people, collapse of buildings, loss of lives, damage to valuable documents, unplanned migration, among others. Hence, significant information for people living in these flood prone areas is how often and how severe the flooding may be. According to RICS 2009, “Surface water (pluvial) flooding, one form of flooding, is closely associated with intense, often localized, storms that overwhelm the capacity of local drains, causing flash floods. Pluvial flooding is a characteristic of urban areas where large areas of impervious ground exist and inadequate drainage systems abound. Impacts from climate change are understood to include water scarcity, drought, food shortages, malnutrition, increased disease vectors, increased storm surges and frequent flooding. For instance, droughts and floods, such as the African Sahel droughts and major floods in Mozambique, have caused ‘environmental refugees’ (Action Aid, 2006). The implications of these problems go far beyond the individual and sometimes threaten the fragile national economies (Rain et al, 2011). It is imperative to note that, these new challenges will not only make achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) more difficult, but could also threaten some of the progress already made in eradicating extreme poverty and disease. Climate change is observed to be exacerbating and disturbing the delicate well-being of people. Water is critical to life but too much water or water that comes at an unexpected time or in unexpected places can be a big problem. As temperature and rainfall intensity increases, the frequency and occurrence of flooding may also increase (Afeku, 2005). Flooding is described as a relatively high flow of water, which overflows the natural channel, provided for runoff. Floods are classifiable according to cause (high rainfall, tidal extremes, structural failure) and nature (e.g., regularity, speed of onset, velocity and depth of water, spatial and temporal scale) (Ahern, 2005).
Flooding can be divided into different categories according to their duration. Slow-Onset Floods usually last for a relatively longer period; it may last for one or more weeks, or even months. As this kind of flood last for a long period, it can lead to lose of stock, damage to agricultural products, roads and rail links. Rapid-Onset Floods last for a relatively shorter period; they usually last for one or two days only. Although this kind of flood lasts for a shorter period, it can cause more damages and pose a greater risk to life and property as people usually have less time to take preventative action during rapid-onset floods. Flash Floods may occur within minutes or a few hours after heavy rainfall, tropical storm, failure of dams or levees or releases of ice jams.
River Floods are the most common type of flooding. When the actual amount of river flow is larger than the amount that the channel can hold, river will overflow its banks and flood the areas alongside the river. The cause may be reasons like snow melt or heavy spring rain. Besides, flood risks may be further exacerbated by trends towards urbanization. Hollis (2003) as cited in RICS (2009) reveals that, more infrastructures such as roads and hard pavement surfaces increase the problem of urban run-off and thus, the resultant effect of flooding. These paved surfaces which are mostly seen in urban buildings prevent natural infiltration unless designed for
this purpose, hence contributing to urban floods. The type of flooding of interest to this research is rain and over flowing dam\river induced flooding.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Flood disaster either natural or man- made has been a global phenomenon. The disaster has caused great catastrophe such misfortune always result in loss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira in its rough estimate. When there is disaster of any kind, the three phenomena essential for survival are water, air and soil but they are said to be polluted and harbor physical, chemical and biological agents that lead to health problems in any area affected.
These agents could have adverse effects on human health, destructive effects on animals and plants, damage materials of economic development of the people in particular and the society in general.
The outbreak of flood in Oko-Anala this year 2012 has been described as the worst in the past 50years. The victims now live in refugee camps without food, water, electricity and other essentials of life. There are already reported cases of outbreak of diseases and death of people, this situation necessitated the present study.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to identify the causes and health implications of flood disaster on health and life of people of Oko-Anala with a view of offering control and preventive measures of future occurrences of the disaster. Specific objectives include;
- To find out the physical causes of flooding in the community.
- To find out the health of flooding on the people of Oko-Anala
- To find out the social health implications of flooding.
- To find out the emotional/mental health implications of flooding and living in camps.
- To determine if the health implications differ according to age of victims.
- To determine if the health implications differ according to sex of the victims.
1.4 Research Questions
- What are the causes of flooding disaster in Oko-Anala?
- What are the physical health implications of flooding and living in camps?
- What are the social health implications of flooding and living in camps?
- What are the emotional/mental health implications of flooding and living in camps?
- Does the health implications differ according to age of victims?
- Does the health implications differ according to sex of victims?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
- H01: Health implications of flood disaster do not differ according to age
- H02: The health implications of flood disaster do not differ according to sex.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The research work will highlight the causes of flood disaster in the community; it will also highlight the effects on health implications of the disaster. The study will also add to the pool of knowledge already established by people on the causes and health implications of flooding and living in camps.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.7 Scope of the Study
Flood disaster has positive and negative ramifications on society, including economic, environmental, social and health consequences. This work focuses more on the negative health effects. Health implications can be psychological (mental), physiological (physical) or social. One physical health effect associated with flood disaster is death. Death might result from an array of medical causes such as; electrocution, asphyxiation and physical trauma.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The demanding schedule of respondents at work made it very difficult getting the respondents to participate in the survey. As a result, retrieving copies of questionnaire in timely fashion was very challenging. Also, the researcher is a student and therefore has limited time as well as resources in covering extensive literature available in conducting this research. Information provided by the researcher may not hold true for all businesses or organizations but is restricted to the selected organization used as a study in this research especially in the locality where this study is being conducted. Finally, the researcher is restricted only to the evidence provided by the participants in the research and therefore cannot determine the reliability and accuracy of the information provided.
Financial Constraint:
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time Constraint:
The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Flood:
A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of “flowing water”, the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of significant concern in agriculture, civil engineering and public health.
Health:
Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.” This means that health is a resource to support an individual’s function in wider society, rather than an end in itself.
Development:
Development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and objectives.
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Summary of Findings
The purpose of this study was to identify the causes and health implications of flood disaster on health and life of people of Oko-Anala with a view of offering control and preventive measures of future occurrences of the disaster. Two hypotheses were formulated (generated) to guide the researcher. The first was meant to find out if the health implications of flood disaster differ according to age. The research also sought to uncover whether the health implications of flood disaster differ according to sex.
To attain these goals, a test questionnaire was administered to civil servants with the federal ministry of flood and disaster management. During data analysis, the student t-test analysis was employed.
The analyses of collected data revealed that the health implications of flood disaster differ according to age. Moreso, the analysis of the collected data revealed that the health implications of flood disaster differ according to sex. Hence, the null hypotheses were rejected.
5.2 Conclusion
The primary purpose of this study is toidentify the causes and health implications of flood disaster on health and life of people of Oko-Anala with a view of offering control and preventive measures of future occurrences of the disaster. Other secondary objectives guided the collection of primary data. A review of existing literature on the subject of disaster as well as flood was presented in chapter two. Beside the secondary data, a primary data was gathered through the use of questionnaires from the sampled population selected for this study. A total of 100 respondents contributed to the findings of this study.
The study concludes that communities that have experienced flood have suffered from developmental setbacks as a result of persistent floods, thus affecting the livelihoods and general well-being of the people. Several households in these areas have lost children to diarrheal outbreaks, malaria and typhoid fever resulting from stagnant and polluted drinking water. Also, a striking observation with areas like these is that after flood, garbage gets littered all over the area, providing habitat for rats, snakes, scorpions and other harmful insects.
Even though the Nigerian government has drawn up several intervention strategies, it has been unsatisfactory in ameliorating the sufferings of flood victims. To a larger extent, the government response and policies have not been efficient and the recovery process has been slow. Several factors have been found to be responsible for these shortcomings, which explain the inability of the people to respond and cope with flood disasters. These factors include lack of restructuring and rebuilding functionality towards mitigating risks associated with floods. In the absence of pre-surveillance data, which is a big issue in Nigeria and other developing countries, risk assessment becomes very difficult to address.
5.3 Recommendations
The recommendations from study are as follows:
Responsible authorities should ensure that donations from volunteer groups reach the desired population. This can be achieved by giving these groups direct access to the victims and not passing through government storehouses where they could be redirected for other uses. Resource distribution by governmental organisations should be done according to the needs of the affected population and not on the same scale level as affected areas.
Flood control strategies should be regularly updated by the different tiers of government. There should also be regular inspection on adherence to land policies by the Ministry of Lands and Environment, which will put land owners in check on encroachment into wetlands and other restricted areas.
Institutional frameworks at the tiers of government, especially the local government, should be strengthened. Medical reforms should be implemented at the state and LGA levels and coordination between the tiers of government strengthened. There should also be improvement of waste management plans by the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Government healthcare establishments should be regularly renovated and the equipment updated to match the private sector. In this way, public health centres can competitively cater for the urban poor communities, providing them with rapid implementation of control measures in disease outbreaks following flood disasters.


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