Flooding and Adaptation: Coping Strategies of Slum Dwellers in Lagos, Nigeria
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Date
2018
Authors
Eshiet I.
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Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Benin
Abstract
The study investigated the coping strategies of slum dwellers in response to flood hazards in Lagos, Nigeria. Flooding has increased in frequency and magnitude in recent times in Lagos, culminating in the loss of lives and assets. Slum dwellers within the Lagos metropolis are particularly vulnerable to flood disasters due to poor planning, infrastructural decay, overcrowding and poor sanitation habits of residents. The study therefore, sought to unravel the impact of floods on livelihoods and assets of slum dwellers and the strategies adopted by them to mitigate these impacts, using Ilaje-Bariga and Makoko communities (two flood prone slums) as study areas. Mix methods – cross sectional survey and focus group discussions were used to gather both quantitative and qualitative data on the coping strategies of respondents. The study underpins its arguments on the social vulnerability and adaptation approach. Finding of the study reveal that respondents’ perception of the major cause of flood hazard is the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste in flood drainages by residents. It further reveals that despite the consistent annual flood hazards in these communities, there has been no organized state support for flood victims. Individuals/households are left to devise their coping strategies. The study recommends that Government’s efforts at flood disaster management in urban slums such as Ilaje-Bariga and Makoko communities should equally emphasize the non-structural aspect of flood management such as behavioural change, which is currently not prioritised in flood disaster management.
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Citation
Eshiet, I. (2018). Flooding and Adaptation: Coping Strategies of Slum Dwellers in Lagos, Nigeria. Benin Journal of Social Sciences 24(1):108-126. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Benin, Benin, Nigeria