RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF THE IMPACT OF FLOOD IN SHIMANKAR RIVER BASIN, SHENDAM LGA OF PLATEAU STATE

Abstract

A flood disaster is an unforeseen and sudden event that causes damage to physical infrastructure, destroys lives and properties as well as induces human suffering. This study aimed at assessing the impact of floods on the environment and the livelihood of people in Shimankar River Basin in Shendam Local government Area of Plateau State. To achieve this, relevant data were collected by field observations, interviews, and self-administered questionnaires. A total of 189 respondents were chosen from seven (7) communities residing close to the river channel by probability random sampling. Microsoft excel was employed in creating a database used for descriptive and inferential statistics. The result obtained showed that 73.5% of respondents were self-employed and a little above half of the population (50.8%) were aged between 40 and 59 years. The marital status of the respondents reveals that most were married, with an average monthly income of between N25,000 and N 40,000. The finding also revealed evidences that yearly floods has occurred from 2006 to 2016; with 2012 flood year being the worst. The result also revealed that flood impact on livelihood was worst on agrarian-based livelihoods (crop, livestock and Fish farming) while its impact on infrastructures was across allsections except on communication masts. The findings further revealed that 10% of all building types collapsed due to floodings and 50% of the collapsed buildings were of the traditional housing types. Healthwise, Cholera/Diarrhea, Malaria, Typhoid and Bilharziasis with 28%, 17%, 13%, and 10% response, respectively, were at the fore of diseases associated with floods. The study hypothesised that there is no significant difference in the coping strategies adopted by the studied communities. The One Sample t-Test parametric statistics was adopted to test the hypothesis that there is no significant difference in coping strategies adopted by the communities in the river basin.These results confirm the assertion that there is significant difference in the coping strategies with all p-values being less than 0.05 Thus, the null hypothesis that there is not is rejected.