Evaluation of the Relationships between Urban Infrastructure and Flood Disaster in Gombe Metropolis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between urban infrastructure and flood disaster in Gombe metropolis, Nigeria. In this research work, the survey research design was used to obtain data from the field. Stratified sampling technique was adopted in determining the study sample which consisted of 250 households (i.e. 13% of the population, made up of 1,923 households). 250 questionnaires were administered on household heads in the study area; however, only 237 questionnaires were retrieved and used for analysis. Spearman's rank correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were used to examine the relationships between the criterion variable (flood disaster) and the predictor variables (urban infrastructure). The study showed that inadequacy of appropriate urban infrastructure is the major factor responsible for flood disaster in Gombe metropolis [R = 0.792, P = 0.000<0.01(2-tailed)]. It was recommended among others, that there should be improvement on the maintenance of available drainage infrastructure in the metropolis and the integration of solid waste management to prevent over flowing of flood as a result of blockage of drains. Government and all other stakeholders should expedite the provision of appropriate urban infrastructure in the metropolis.

Urban Development and the Increasing Trend of Flood Risk in Gombe Metropolis, Nigeria

“…The wet season occurs from April to October with average annual rainfall of 650-1000mm. The relative humidity can reach up to 94 percent in August but declined to 10 percent during the harmattan period (Daniel, et al, 2012). …”

“…However, others argued that, human activity affects the nature of the physical environment and that the environment is only responding to these actions (Daniel, et al, 2012). Man-induced factors includes human activities such as poor planning of the physical environment, poor management of wastes, inadequate drains, dumping of refuse, erecting of constructions on flood plains and other inappropriate actions that interfere with the free flow of water.…”

“…Mwape (2009) argue that the cumulative impact of human activities without regard for nature has turned floods of recent time from a natural phenomenon into a maninduced disaster. The problem is even more critical in developing cities where there is poor control over land use practices within floodplains and an inadequate institutional mechanism to enforce floodplain ordinances (Daniel, et al, 2012). …”

“…Urbanization is a major factor in the growth of vulnerability, especially among the lower income families living in floodplains and areas liable to flooding (Daniel et al, 2012 (Adewumi, 2013). Therefore, contrary to old assumptions that natural factor is the sole factor for flooding, recent research works have discovered that human activities is the most important causative factor for flood risk in many urban towns including Gombe Metropolis, where indiscriminate clearance of forest and vegetation, erecting buildings on the floodplains, poor infrastructural development and population explosion, have no doubt increased the problems of flooding in the metropolis.…”

“…Gombe Metropolis has experienced a demographic explosion that generates a high population pressure on land and the subsequent urban developmental processes, especially the increasing number of building structures on the floodplains areas and thereby exposing the urban poor to flood risk vulnerabilities (Daniel et al, 2012). These series of infrastructural growth and urban development in Gombe significantly brought changes in the population, land use/ land cover and the urban development as a whole leading to a massive transformation of forest and the savannah vegetation areas into the built-up environment to accommodate the increasing population.…”