Urban Flood Risk Impact on Road Accessibility and Socioeconomic Life in Egor Geographical Area of Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Road accessibility as well as the height of socioeconomic activities can be predicated by many factors. However, in many urban areas of developing countries, road flooding has become a concern to both movement and socioeconomic activities. Hence, this study was conducted to examine the impact of flooding on road accessibility and socioeconomic life in Egor Geographical Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The study adopted the case study survey, with nine zones of intense flooding purposely selected for the investigation. Thereafter, forty-two copies of a semi-structured questionnaire were administered in seven streets in each zone. In addition, field observation was conducted to supplement data from the questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to compare the level of flooding among the identified zones. The result showed that major cause of flooding in the area was lack of adequate channelization of flood waters in many roads, especially among the local feeder roads. It was also found that, the few drainage facilities of the major arterial and collector roads were silted with flood debris and mud sands washed off from the untarred local roads. With respect to severity of flooding, while field observation showed that flood menace was a familiar thing around streets in the study area, the level of severity however, was found to be statistically different among the zones. Damage to road infrastructure, restriction of movement, high cost of transportation, displacement of people, insecurity and loss of property were among the socioeconomic consequences of flooding in the study area. The study recommended that government intervention measure to road flooding in the area should be holistic rather than the disjointed incrementalist approach often adopted.

Keywords: Accessibility; Egor; Flooding; Life, Road; Socioeconomic