AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CAUSES AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF FLOOD DISASTER ON HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
                                                                       Abstract               
The study examined the causes and health implications of flood disaster of 2012 in Oko-Anala, Oshimili South LGA of Delta state. Literature related to the topic was reviewed. Survey design was used for the study. Five objectives, five research questions as well as three hypotheses were stated to direct the study. The population was made up of an estimated 3000 inhabitants of Oko-Anala using stratified random sampling, a sample of 300 inhabitants were selected. A structured questionnaire validated reliabilited test was used to generate data for the study. Simple percentages chi-square statistics were used for the analysis of the data. The findings of the study revealed that the lack of drainage system and poor waste disposal were the major causes of flooding. The health problems associated with flood disaster included outbreak of communicable diseases, mosquito infestation, overcrowding, exposure to cold and pneumonia etc. It was recommended that roads should have gutters, good disposal of refuse and intervention fund for disasters.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 CHAPTER ONE
 INTRODUCTION ................................
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF STUDY AREA
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
PURPOSE OF STUDY
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
RESEARCH QUESTION
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY…
SCOPE OF STUDY
CHAPER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
CAUSES OF FLOOD DISASTER
IMPLICATION OF FLOOD AND ITS SOCIO ECONOMIC IMPLICATION
EMPIRICAL STUDY
SUMMARY OF LITERATURE
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY/DESIGN PROCEDURE
DESIGN OF RESEARCH…
AREA OF STUDY ……………………………….……………
POPULATION/UNIVERSE OF STUDY
SAMPLE SIZE ANDSAMPLING TECHNIQUE
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENTS ………
METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
RESEARCH FINDING
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS………
CONCLUSION
PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATION OF STUDY
RECOMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS TO HOUSEHOLD COMMUNITY MEMBERS
RECOMMENDATIONS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
LIMITATION
SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDY
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
     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 iver induced flooding.
 Health Implication of Flood Disaster.
     Related to sanitation are the health implications. Flooding has a lot of health implications on the people. Stagnant water breeds insects and mosquitoes thus causing malaria. People who are directly exposed to flood waters suffer injuries and sicknesses like skin rashes and fever.
There is an outbreak of epidemics and diseases such as cold, flu, cholera, pneumonia and malaria during flooding. The flooding incident brings about an outbreak of diseases including malaria and diarrhea in the communities. The illnesses are an additional burden on household expenses; those who cannot afford the medical bills find themselves in trouble.
Historical Background of Study Area.
     Oko-Anala is a rural community based in Oshimili South LGA of Delta State. The community has a paramount ruler who is called ‘The Okpara’ popularly known as the Prime Minister who is in charge of the general governance of the community. The community has a population of about Three thousand (3000) persons living in it.  The community is bounded in the North by Asaba, in the East by the River Niger and Onitsha of Anambra State while in the South by a thick forest mounted at the River Niger, in other words, it is surrounded by the river. The community is a clustered settlement; it has a major link road connecting to Asaba the State capital. The access road is untarred which makes it rough and rugged during rainy season.
     The ethnic group composition includes the Anioman which is the ancestral origin of the land. In search of livelihood, some members of the community are the Ibos popularly known as across the Niger people. They are migrants from the eastern part of Nigeria who could not afford the living condition of Asaba. Their main economic activities are farming, fishing, rubber tapping and petty trading. Few of them who are civil servants normally go to work in Asaba every day.    The most common form of mobility is the motor-bike popularly known as ‘Okada’. Their religion is Christianity while some still believe in the African traditional religion (ATR). Their houses are built with blocks, mud and sand.
  Statement of 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.
Purpose of 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.
 
 Objectives of Study.
     The primary objectives of the study are to find out;
The physical causes of flooding in the community.
The health of flooding on the people of Oko-Anala
The social health implications of flooding.
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.
Hypotheses.
H01  Do the heath implications of flood disaster  differ according to age?
H02 The health implications of flood disaster do not differ according to sex.
 Research Questions.
What are the causes of flooding disaster in Oko-Anala?
What are the physical health implications of flooding and living in camps?
  iii.    What are the social health implications of flooding and living in camps?
  iv.     What are the emotional/mental health implications of flooding and living in camps?
   v.     Does the health implications differ according to age of victims?
  vi.     Does the health implications differ according to sex of victims?
 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.
 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.