Abstract:
Flood is a major weather related natural disaster in the Lower Benue valley, especially in Makurdi,
which has occurred severally with devastating effects. As a result, this study assessed and
documents the effects of 2017 flood in Makurdi. This was achieved by assessing the
hydroclimatology of the lower Benue valley, flood risk zones, the damages and vulnerability to
the 2017 flood in Makurdi. Primary and secondary data were acquired to model the loss due to
2017 flooding. 400 copies of questionnaire were administered to obtain information on the socioeconomic
status, vulnerability and damage incurred by the respondents. Precipitation and River
discharge data were obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian
Hydrological Service Agency (NiHSA) respectively. Soil data were acquired from the Harmonised
World Soil Database. Scanned geology map of Makurdi was acquired from the Nigeria Geological
Survey Agency. Landsat 8, OLI and SRTM DEM data were acquired from the USGS Website.
Rainfall trend for 1960 – 2017 was analyzed to show their monthly, dry season, wet season and
annual patterns which showed a declining trend over the period. Standardized Precipitation Index
(SPI) and Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI) were used to determine the flood years and
years with high concentration of rainfall, from 1960 to 2017, respectively. Flood hazard zones
were mapped and flood risk map developed using fuzzy membership and it was discovered that
62.97%, 27.03% and 10.00% of Makurdi area are low, medium and high hazard zones
respectively. Analysis showed that the commercial land use incurred the higher loss between the
residential and commercial land uses considered. Loss function was developed for both residential
and commercial land uses. 68.3% of the respondents within the study area fell within low income
earners with Wurukum showing the highest percentage. 38.8%, 63.8% and 64.3% of respondents
had had long stay in the area, past flood experience and flood-hazard awareness respectively.
Despite long stay of respondents in the area, high level of past flood experience and awareness,
the people of Makurdi still experience high level of flood damage. This may be due to adverse
effect of socio-economic indicators such as unemployment and low income earning identified with
respondents. This study concluded that the commercial areas were at more risk than the residential
areas and should be prioritize in taking any measure that will be directed to curb the menace of
flooding in Makurdi.
