Flood Vulnerability and Adaptation Practices of Residential Areas in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The increasing effects of flooding in flood-prone areas over the years cannot be overstated in terms of reducing flood damage. There are several measures of various characteristics, each of which has its own justification for flood protection. The concepts of vulnerability, hazard, and risk have been extensively used in various disciplines with different meanings, impeding cross-disciplinary cooperation for dealing with hazardous events. In Nigeria, there has been an occurrence of flooding, and many households have been rendered homeless and many lives have been lost due to this devastating issue. This article aims to examine flood vulnerability and possible adaptation practices for residential buildings, as well as the potential for resilience in the event of its occurrence. The objective was to propose appropriate resilient strategies to mitigate flood risk in Abuja, Nigeria. The paper adopts a purposive sampling technique in the selection of some areas for the study. A structured questionnaire survey was used to get information on the residents, and also a site risk assessment was taken on the selected areas. A total of 174 questionnaires were administered, with a valid rate of 96.6% and a reliability value of 0.606. The result shows that an average percentage of residential areas are affected by floods with low resilience strategies. The study concludes that the government should have policies to set the rules of implementation and possible resilience strategies to mitigate the occurrence of floods for the residents.