Spatial Analysis of Flood Disaster in Delta State, Nigeria

G.O. Enaruvbe
Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria email: enaruvbe@gmail.com

& G.U. Yesuf

Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

Flooding has become more prevalent over the past decades in Nigeria. The recent incidence of flood disaster in the country has been attributed to increased rainfall and infrastructure failure. Coastal farming communities are the most adversely affected as their farms and fishing implements were inundated or washed away by the floodwater. An important aspect of flood disaster management is the provision of timely information, necessary for mitigation of the impact of the disaster. Using ASTER data, the digital elevation model of the State was generated in ArcGIS. Land use classes were derived from visual image interpretation of google earth images using the Multi-Resolution Land Cover classification(MRLC) system. As a result of field survey, a buffer of 2km was created around River Niger and other inland rivers in the State. This was used in ascertaining the extent of the flooded area in the state. The result reveals that an area of over 7,950km2 or over 49% of the riverine and coastal area of the State was flooded, affecting more than 50 coastal and riverine communities and about 137.1 hectares of farmland across the State. The research concludes that the use of ASTER data and GIS seems effective in identifying and mapping areas prone to flooding. It is recommended that flood mapping should be integrated into land use planning as a strategy for mitigating damage caused by flood disaster in developing countries. Keyword: Flood, Disaster, ASTER, Climate change, Farming

Introduction Flood disasters are among the most destructive natural disaster in history. Damage caused by flood to agriculture, homes and public facilities around the world runs into several millions of dollars annually. In most cases, flooding occurs when rivers overflow their banks as a result of excessive rainfall, dam failure, or obstruction of river channel resulting from encroachment.

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The devastating effect of flood on the means of livelihood, particularly in the developing countries is evident in the literature (Karki, Shrestha, Bhattarai, and Thapa, 2011). The incidence of flooding has become more frequent and severe around the world, a situation that has been attributed to climate change and sea-level rise (Clark et al., 1998). Several flood disasters have occurred in Nigeria in the recent past. These include the Sokoto flood disaster of September, 2010; Ibadan flood of August 2011 and the September 2012 flood disaster which can be described as one of the most devastating in the last half century. The September, 2012 flood affected several states in Nigeria including Adamawa, Kogi, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States, displacing millions of people in the process. This flood has rendered millions of people homeless and their means of livelihood destroyed. The social and economic impact of the recent flood incident, particularly on agricultural production and social infrastructure, cannot be overemphasized, yet the long term impacts of the recent flood in Nigeria could be more severe. As a result of the increasing intensity and frequency of flooding in the recent past, attempts have been made to investigate the natural and human causes of flood and flood related disasters. Karki et al.(2011) mapped flood risk vulnerability pattern in flood plain of the Kankai River, Nepal using a combination of flood simulation model, remote sensing data and socio-economic data. Eni, Atu, Oko, and Ekwok, (2011) also used interview method in analysing the impact of flood on farmlands in Cross River state, Nigeria. Sanyal and Lu, (2004) however, derived flood hazard index map of vulnerability levels by incorporating population density, flood frequency, transportation network, access to drinking water and the availability of high ground in mapping maximum risk zones. Though several scholars have analysed the problem of flooding in Nigeria (Atedhor, Odjugo, and Uriri, 2011; Eni et al. 2011; Etuonovbe, 2011; Dabara, 2012), most of the research, however, focused on the health and social impacts of flooding. Apart from Eni et al. (2011) who investigated the impact of flooding on farmlands in Cross River State, Nigeria using a combination of interview and laboratory methods, the implications of flood disaster on food production in the country seems not to have been investigated. The increasing intensity and frequency of flood disaster in the recent past calls for an approach that is timely and cost effective. It has been shown that the integration of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide valuable and timely spatial information in the event of a natural disaster. This approach has proved to be a very important tool in the evaluation and management of natural disaster. Pradhan, (2009) analysed flood risk areas in the east coast of Malaysia using GIS and statistical models. Though effective, this method may be time consuming as every part of the affected area need to be visited for the purpose of collecting GPS data for elevation mapping and modeling. Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) images provide a means of generating the digital elevation model (DEM) of the landscape and therefore, it can give an estimate of flood depth in areas inundation by flood water. Land use maps generated from image processing in a GIS environment provides useful estimates of the damage caused by flood disaster (Ostir, Veljanovski, Podobnikar, and Stancic, 2003). These maps give a strong direct impression of the spatial pattern of flood disaster (Merx, Thieken, and Gocht, 2007). Similarly, remote sensing is important in every phase of disaster management (Joyce, Belliss, Samsonov, McNeill, and Glassey, 2009) providing a rapid-response data source for mapping natural hazards and disaster. Though there may be difficulties associated with data acquisition, Joyce et al. (2009) note that remote sensing provide a useful means of monitoring natural disaster and emergency services. National and local flood risk mapping initiative have been adopted in some countries to improve and increase information available on flood risk (Merx et al. 2007). Information derived from disaster mapping efforts are important in providing an alert system and for the design of evacuation strategies in the event of a flood disaster. This research, therefore, seeks to analyse the impact of flood on farming communities in Delta State using remote sensing data and Geographic Information Systems techniques.

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Study Area Delta State lies approximately between longitudes 500 and 645'E and latitudes 500 and 630'N. It is one of the oil-producing States of Nigeria and is divided into twenty-five local government councils with a total land area of 16,842 km2. It has a population of 4,112,445 according to the 2006 National Population Commission (NPC, 2006) with a large proportion of the population engaged in farming and fishing activities. The State shares boundaries with Edo to the north, Ondo to the northwest, Anambra to the east and Bayelsa and Rivers State to the southeast. On its southern flank is 160 km of the coastline of the Bight of Benin. The State is criss-crossed by many rivers and streams including the River Niger which separates it from Anambra, Bayelsa and Rivers States. Many communities, especially in the southern part of the State are lowland, coastal areas. The rainfall pattern of the area is seasonal, characterised by wet season, which lasts between March and October while the dry season begins in November and ends in February in the northern delta but all year round in the coastal region. A short-dry-season usually interrupts the wet season in late July or August. Mean annual rainfall ranges from 4000mm in the coastal areas to 1500mm in the northern part of the region. Temperatures are generally high and relatively constant all year round. Average monthly maximum and minimum temperatures vary from 28C to 38 C and 21C to 23C respectively (NDDC, 2005). Materials and Methods Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) global digital elevation model (30m resolution) was downloaded from the Global Land Cover Facility site (GLCF) and contours were generated to determine the pattern of vulnerability of the State to flooding using elevation as criteria. Elevation has been shown to be an important consideration in flood risk mapping in coastal areas (Dewan, Islam, Kumamoto, and Nishigaki, 2004; Sanyal and Lu, 2004; Sanyal and Lu, 2005). ASTER scenes covering Delta State were mosaicked in ArcGIS, and transformed to the projected coordinate system -WGS 1984 UTM Zone 32N. Settlement and farmland in the study area were extracted using the visual image interpretation of google earth image and on-screen digitizing. The multi-resolution land characterization regional and land cover classification (MRLC) system (Vogelmann, Sohl, Campbell, and Shaw, 1998) was adopted in categorizing the land use types in the State. On the basis of the MRLC classification systems, the State was classified into four major land use classes (Water body, Settlement, Bare surface and Vegetated surface). Some of the affected communities in the riverine areas of the State were visited about two weeks after the flood disaster to validate the classified image and determine the level and extent of the flood in the area. The communities visited include Uzere, Asaba, Ossissa, Aboh, Uvwie, Gbekebo, Warri, Evwreni and Burutu. The height of the flood mark on buildings were measured and their geographic location was captured using a hand-held GPS receiver. Oral interview was also conducted to ascertain the impact of the flood on the means of livelihood of the people, particularly on their farm land and fish ponds. Information on the impact of the flood on social amenities such as schools in the communities were also solicited. The risk map of the study area was generated using a combination of elevation derived from the ASTER image as well as measurements and information obtained from the field survey. The elevation classes derived was based on information extracted from the ASTER images and field survey. It was observed that elevation in the State ranges between less than 2m above mean sea-level in the southern part of the State and along the River valleys, to above 100m in the northern part. Field observations indicate that apart from the communities around the River Niger valley which has a broad floodplain and dense distributaries, most communities affected by the flood were within 2km of River Niger and its tributaries. A buffer of 2km was therefore generated to determine flooded settlements and farmlands in the State. On the basis of the buffer, the State was therefore demarcated (Figure 2) into flooded and non-flooded areas (Sanyal and Lu, 2005; Dewan et al., 2007).

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Results and Discussion The digital elevation model (DEM) generated from the ASTER image is shown in Figure 1. The Figure shows that elevation in most parts of the State, particularly the southern part, is generally less than 30m above sea level. The low elevation of the State, coupled with its proximity to River Niger may have further exposed the communities in the State to flooding and tidal incursion. Many of the communities in the coastal area of the State are either farming or fishing communities. For instance, communities such as Burutu, Aboh, Onya and Patani are mainly fishing communities while others such as Obikwele, Ossissa and Umudike are farming communities along the River Niger floodplain.

Figure 1: Digital Elevation Model Analysis (Figure 2) shows that about 7,950km2, representing more than 49% of the riverine and coastal communities of Delta State were affected by the 2012 flood disaster. More than 50 communities and about 137.1hectares of farmland were affected across the State. Riverine communities such as Burutu, Gbekebo, Uzere, Patani, Asaba-Assay and Akri-Ogidi were severely affected. At Gbekebo for instance, it was observed that flood water got to a height of about 1meter in some areas. This resulted in many fish ponds being washed away as the entire community was inundated. Similarly, farms and fish ponds were also washed away at Uzere, Patani, Evwreni and Aboh on the River Niger floodplain. Farmlands, schools, roads and other social facilities were also flooded in Asaba, Okpanam, Ebuh and Ilah in the northern part of the State. Most parts of Warri, Sapele, Ughelli and Obiaruku were also inundated. However, communities with high elevation such as Agbor, Ubulu-uku, Obior and Mbiri and environs at the north and northwestern part of the State were not affected by the flood. The volume of flood water that reached the State from the combined effect of excessive rainfall and the released of water from Kainji dam in Nigeria and Lagdo dam in Cameroun resulted in the rapid rise of water levels in both River Niger and Benue respectively, consequently resulting in flooding of settlements along their floodplain. Islam and Sabo (2000) noted that the quantity of water and rate of rise in water level influences the damage cause by flooding. Wang, Colby, and Mulcahy, (2002) mapped flood in the United States using Landsat TM and noted that DEM assists in identifying flooded areas in coastal areas and in areas of large spatial extents with relatively flat topography such as exists in Delta state. Similarly, Pradhan, (2009) has noted that the use of DEM was effective in delineating areas vulnerable to flooding and Meyer et al. (2009) has argued that maps provide a tool for assessment of the impact of flooding in local communities.
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The findings demonstrate the level of exposure of the state to flood disaster and also underscore the need for measures to be taken that will minimise the impact of future flood events. Similarly, the findings support Sanyal and Lu, (2005 and 2004) who demonstrated the use of ASTER images for generating DEM for flood risk assessment. Meyer et al., (2009) also demonstrated the use of remote sensing and GIS in the integration of data from various sources in a multi-criteria flood risk mapping. Flooding and food production The flooding situation as observed in Figure 2 indicates that farmland and fish ponds and other social facilities in the affected local communities were severely damaged. It has also been noted that land degradation and nutrient dynamics are other effects of flooding (Rosenzweig, Iglesius, Yang, Epstein, and Chivian, 2001). This situation may lead to scarcity and high cost of food in the near future. The impact of extreme climate variation on food production has been highlighted by Rosenzweig and Parry, (1994) and Rosenzweig et al.,(2001). They note that most crops are sensitive to such extreme conditions as a decrease in rainfall, high temperature and flooding. Other impacts are termed indirect and these include influence on soil processes, nutrient dynamics and pest organisms. These conditions have been observed to significantly affect soil productivity and crop yield. Rosenzweig et al. (2001) further states that these impacts of climate change and the accompanying extreme conditions increases the vulnerability of the population to hunger and malnutrition. Rosenzweig and Parry, (1994) and Parry, Rosenzweig, Iglesias, Livermore, and Fischer, (2004) noted the impact of global climate change on food production. They observed that though global food production seems stable, there is variation in regional production and between the developed and developing countries as the developed countries produce more food. This disparity is likely to continue to increase and may be worsened by extreme climatic events.

Figure 2: Flood inundated area

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Conclusion and Recommendation Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems techniques were adopted in examining the impact and extent of the recent flood disaster on agriculture and human settlement in the study area. The use of ASTER images for the generation of DEM seems effective in mapping flood prone areas in the study area. The study demarcated the State into flooded and non-flooded area on the basis of elevation generated from the ASTER image and 2 kilometer buffer created around rivers in the State. The results of the study indicate that a large part of coastal and Riverine communities in the state were affected by the flood, inundating many farmlands and washing away fish ponds and fishing equipment. The study demonstrates the need for mapping flood prone areas as an important aspect of land use planning and evaluation. This is more so in developing countries such as Nigeria where emergency and disaster response may not be very swift. Flood mapping may go a long way in developing flood disaster response strategies and reduce the damage resulting from flooding and other extreme natural events. References Atedhor, G. O., Odjugo, P. A., and Uriri, A. E. (2011). Changing rainfall and anthropogenic-induced flooding: Impacts and adaptation strategies in Benini City, Nigeria. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 4(1), 42-52. Clark, G. E., Moser, S. C., Ratick, S. J., Dow, K., Meyer, W. B., Emani, S., . . . Schwarz, H. E. (1998). Assessing the vulnerability of coastal communities to extreme storms: the case of Revere, MA., USA. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 3, 59-82. Dabara, I. D. (2012). Analysis of the relationships of urbanization dynamics and incidences of urbn flood disaster in Gombe metropolis, Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 14(2). Dewan, A. M., Islam, M. M., Kumamoto, T., and Nishigaki, M. (2007). Evaluating flood hazard for land use planning in greater Dhaka of Bangladesh using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Water Resources Management, 21, 1601-1612. Eni, D. I., Atu, J. E., Oko, C. O., and Ekwok, I. (2011). Flood and its impact on farmlands in Itigidi, Abi Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(9), 98-104. Etuonovbe, A. K. (2011). The devastating effect of flooding in Nigeria. FIG Working Week 2011: Bridging the Gap between Cultures. Marrakech, Morrocco. Islam, M. M., and Sado, K. (2000). Development of flood hazard maps of Bangladesh using NOAA-AVHRR images with GIS. Hydrological Sciences, 45(3), 337-355. Joyce, K. E., Belliss, S. E., Samsonov, S. V., McNeill, S. J., and Glassey, P. J. (2009). A review of the status of satellite remote sensing and image processing techniques for mapping natural hazards and disasters. Progress in Physical Geography, 33(2), 183-207. Karki, S., Shrestha, A., Bhattarai, M., and Thapa, S. (2011). GIS based flood hazard mapping and vulnerability assessement of people due to climate change: a case study from Kankai watershed, East Nepal. Ministry of Environment, Nepal, National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA). Merx, B., Thieken, A., and Gocht, M. (2007). Flood Risk Mapping at the Local Scale: Concepts and Challenges. In S. Begum, M. J. Stive, and J. W. Hall (Eds.), Flood Risk Management in Europe:Innovation in Policy and Practice (Vol. 25, pp. 231-251). Springer.

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Meyer, V., Scheuer, S., and Haase, D. (2009). A multicriteria approach for flood risk mapping exemplified at the Mulde River, Germany. Natural Hazards, 48, 17-39. Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC). (2005). Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan. Port Harcourt, Nigeria: NDDC. Ostir, K., Veljanovski, T., Podobnikar, T., and Stancic, Z. (2003). Application of satellite remote sensing in natural hazard management:The Mount Mangart landslide case study. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 24, 3983-4002. Parry, M., Rosenzweig, C., Iglesias, A., Livermore, M., and Fischer, G. (2004). Effects of climate change on global food production under SRES emmissions and socio-economic scenarios. Global Environmental Change, 14, 53-67. Pradhan, B. (2009). Flood susceptible mapping and risk area delineation using logistic regression, GIS and remote sensing. Journal of Spatial Hydrology, 9(2), 1-18. Rosenzweig, C., and Parry, M. L. (1994). Potential impact of climate change on world food supply. Nature, 367, 133-138. Rosenzweig, C., Iglesius, A., Yang, X., Epstein, P. R., and Chivian, E. (2001). Climate change and extreme weather events-Implications for food production, plant diseases, and pests. Global change and Human Health, 2(2), 90-104. Sanyal, J., and Lu, X. (2004). Application of Remoste sensing in Flood Management with Special Reference to Monsoon Asia: A review. Natural Hazards, 33, 283-301. Sanyal, J., and Lu, X. (2005). Remote sensing and GIS-based flood vulnerability assessment of human settlements: a case study of Gangetic West Bengal, India. Hydrological Processes, 19, 3699-3716. Vogelmann, J., Sohl, T., Campbell, P., and Shaw, D. (1998). Regional Land cover characterization using Landsat Thematic Mapper data and ancilliary data sources. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 51, 415-428. Wang, Y., Colby, J., and Mulcahy, K. (2002). An efficient method for mapping flood extent in a coastal floodplain using Landsat TM and DEM data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23(18), 3681-3696.

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