HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH FLOODING AMONG RESIDENTS IN TWO SENATORIAL DISTRICT IN RIVERS STATE

This research examined health and environmental hazards associated with flooding among residents in two senatorial district in Rivers State. It explored the prevalence, physical, psychosocial, chemical and biological hazards that associate with flooding. The study assessed the prevalence of victims in Rivers South East, Rivers and South West senatorial district all in Rivers States and explained control towards addressing the problem in Rivers State. The study utilized five research objectives and adopted two theories which is disaster theories and urban resilience theories. The study used secondary sources of data to obtain relevant information for analysis and adopted historical analysis research design. The population consist of residents of the two senatorial district. Sampling size was 1,200 copies of questionnaire, data recovered were analyzed with statistical tool. It presented the data in Tables’ and applied the simple percentage method of data analysis to explain results obtained, while content analysis was used to explain responses from victims of flooding. The responses from the field show that 100% of the victims were affected by the flood, while the relevant Ministries/Agencies responded to the situation within the limits of their capacity. As part of the findings, relevant government Agencies and Ministries made frantic efforts to carry out their statutory responsibilities in the matter of flooding. They were, however, constrained by a number of factors that were external and internal in nature. Specifically, lack of sufficient funds and trained personnel hindered these Agencies and Ministries from operating at full length towards addressing the problems associated with the flooding. Among the recommendations made in the study is the need for government to restructure these Agencies and Ministries, as well as ensuring that local government authorities be mandated to set up Local Emergency Management Agencies (LEMA).