Exploring human-induced flood risks and sustainable urban resilience in Iwo Nigeria with focus on awareness drivers and mitigation pathways.
Ogunbode TO, Opabunmi BA, Adeyi ST, Akinwale EA, Ayodele IM
Urban Ecology
PubMedConcrete green infrastructure like urban gardens, street trees, and permeable surfaces are among the ecological strategies identified as key flood-resilience solutions — meaning how your neighborhood manages plants and soil directly affects whether streets flood during heavy rain.
Researchers surveyed residents of a mid-sized Nigerian city to understand why flooding keeps getting worse despite efforts to manage it. They found that people who recognized harmful habits — like dumping waste near waterways — and who had received basic flood-preparedness training were far more aware of their risk. The study concluded that fixing flooding requires changing community behavior and strengthening local institutions, not just building better drains.
Key Findings
Flood risk awareness was most strongly linked to prior training on flood risk reduction (factor loading 0.919) and knowledge of household preventive measures (0.924).
Three resilience pathways were identified: engineering/structural interventions explained 31.3% of variance, institutional measures 26.2%, and ecological/environmental strategies 16.8% — together accounting for 74.3% of total variance.
Community perceptions clustered around five drivers of flooding, with poor drainage infrastructure scoring highest (0.876), followed by inadequate emergency response (0.851).
chevron_right Technical Summary
This study examined why urban flooding keeps worsening in Iwo, Nigeria, finding that residents' awareness of flood risks and community behaviors are as important as physical infrastructure in determining flood vulnerability.
Abstract Preview
Urban flooding remains a persistent challenge in many cities in developing countries, often intensified by anthropogenic activities such as poor waste disposal, encroachment on waterways, and inade...
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