“I lost all I had to the flood…”: A Post-Disaster Assessment of the 2018 Kogi State Flood in Nigeria

Abstract

The heavy rains of August-September 2018 that resulted in excess run-off and overflow of reservoirs in Nigeria led to the unfortunate Kogi State flood event. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that 204,597 people were affected by the flood. Following this disaster, this study conducted a rapid post-disaster assessment of the situation. With a mixed methods approach, the study explored the perceived causes of the flood, awareness of flood warnings, level of preparedness and government interventions. Our findings showed that 55.6% of the respondents were not aware of early flood warnings while 30.6 per cent were well prepared for the flood. Nearly 13 per cent failed to prepare because they believed God would protect them.  Above 40 per cent of respondents attributed the incidence to rainfall. Almost 75 per cent reported evacuation efforts during the incident while many flood victims were moved to IDP camps for safety (33%). Based on the study findings, it is evident that Nigeria’s flood risk management efforts are largely reactive because they are often limited to the post-disaster phase. The study, therefore, recommended that Kogi State needs a comprehensive flood risk reduction plan comprising early flood warning systems, flood risk mapping and community-based flood adaptation plans which would ultimately improve flood resilience.