Building Urban Flood Resilience Through Community Participation in Urban Areas of Kebbi State, Nigeria

Abstract

The gap between disaster occurrence and precaution is always filled with casualties. Studies on flood resilience in Kebbi state, Nigeria thus far underplayed community participation as a means of building urban flood resilience in urban areas. This chapter examined the level of participation of urban communities in flood risk reduction and management process in Kebbi state and assessed the degree to which the risk communities were actively engaged in identifying and monitoring flood disaster risks. Data were sourced through primary and secondary means but more secondary. Four hundred victims of past flood disasters were interviewed on their experiences during and after the flood and their participation in recovery measures. Findings revealed that 85.5% of the victims considered the recovery items given to them inadequate and indiscriminately distributed and the non-participation of the public in the processes. It is recommended that governments should ensure the full participation of communities in flood risk disasters to enhance their capacities for resilience.