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FLOODING AND THE URBAN POOR: THE COPING MECHANISM IN ILAJE
COMMUNITY OF LAGOS STATE
ONIFADE, Victor A.( [email protected]) and JIMOH, Haruna O. ( [email protected])
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Abstract
This paper examines the coping mechanism of the urban poor to flood with the view to evolving
a framework for mitigation and adaptation to climate change (flood) impact. The paper assessed
the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, the impact of flood on the inhabitants and
the communities coping mechanism. Data were sourced from both primary and secondary
sources through field survey. 108 Questionnaires were purposively administered on the
respondents while 91 were retrieved. Findings show that 85% of the residents are in low income
category, earning below #18,500. The environmental condition of the community is in disrepair
with poor accessibility and vulnerable to flood. Some of the coping mechanisms in the area
include community effort in evacuating drainages, individual repairs of dwellings and personal
treatment of sickness as a result of flood. This could be categorized as problem –focused coping
mechanism among others. The study concluded that Ilaje community is vulnerable to flood and
valuables of the residents are being lost severally, therefore, much effort should be made by
government to improve their standard of living by providing better drainage system and other
infrastructural facilities.
Key words: Coping Mechanism, Vulnerability, Urban poor.
INTRODUCTION:
In the past four decades, economic losses due to natural hazards such as, floods disasters have
increased in many folds and have also resulted in major loss of human lives and livelihoods, the
destruction of economic and social infrastructure, as well as environmental damages (Munich,
2002). Flood could be seen as one of the most common natural disasters in the world. Floods,
one of natural hazards result from the potential for extreme geographical events, to create an
unexpected threat to human life and property (Smith, 1996). When severe floods occur in areas
occupied by humans, they can create natural disasters which involve the loss of human life and
property plus serious disruption to the ongoing activities of large urban and rural communities
(Smith and Ward, 1998).
However, besides the negative flood impact such as damage to houses and other buildings, loss
of life, loss of jobs or income, disruption of the network of social contact, and interruption to
normal access to education, health and food services, there can be a variety of positive flood
impacts, for instance, increased fertility of agricultural land (Parker et al. 1987). For poorer
groups, some of the impacts are very direct, if flood becomes more frequent and hazardous. The
urban poor are the most vulnerable socially, economically and physically to the impacts of
extreme events and, to the impact of adverse environmental tendencies resulting from climate
change such as flood, drought, increasing sea-level etc. Vulnerability, is a critical dimension of
poverty, though synonymous with poverty, but refers to defenselessness and insecurity (Idowu,
2011). With the increasing number of urban dwellers worldwide, the number of people at risk or
vulnerable to flood hazards is likely to increase. Any increase in disasters, whether large or
small, will threaten development gains and hinder the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals (UN-ISDR, 2008). Disasters such as flooding, poses serious challenge to the
economy of a nation. It must be noted that the economic environment of a nation consists of its
financial systems, social welfare, power sector, transportation, investments, commerce,
manufacturing, construction and banking among others.
Disasters when they occur usually result in pains and huge losses to the economy and in most
cases; it is always difficult to quantify the actual cost of damages and recovery. A single case of
disaster such as the one that occurred in Lagos, Nigeria on July 10, 2011 actually destroyed
several years of developmental efforts. In flood disaster, there are loss of lives, destruction of
public utilities and disruption in the smooth functioning of the system that renders fear and
uncertainties among the populace. In addition, there was loss of livelihoods, damage to the
environment, financial loss, and diversion of resources, epidemics, migration, food shortages and
displacement of the people. The impact can be very high in the urban areas, because the areas
affected are densely populated and contain vital infrastructure such as in Ilaje community in
Lagos state. A more disturbing issue is the lack of attention to the promotion of sustainable
environmental management especially in disaster prone areas resulting in devastations which
could have been averted.
Flood is said to be the most significant effect of climate change on the poor (Idowu, 2011). It is
caused from increased precipitation: therefore destroying infrastructure like roads, culverts,
drainage systems, houses and water supply which can have knock-on effects on many parts of
the study area. Damage to healthcare infrastructure will affect the health of the population and
damage to roads can disrupt livelihoods and income. Four different types of flooding are evident
in literature: localized flooding due to inadequate drainage system; flooding from small streams
whose banks urban areas are built; and coastal flooding from the sea or through a combination of
high tides and high river flows from inland.
Localized flooding occurs many times a year in many informal settlements such as those in the
study area, because there are few drains (or those that exist are blocked), most of the ground is
highly compacted and pathways between dwellings become streams after heavy rain.
The urban poor in Nigeria particularly refers to a sub-population characterized by various forms
of social deprivation, such feature, include low education, low and unstable income, struggle for
survival and a spatial housing location with all the characteristics of slums, shanty towns or
squatter settlements as epitomized by the Ilaje community. Based on the foregoing, this study is
examining the coping mechanism of the residents of Ilaje community, Somolu local government
area of Lagos state to flood with the view to evolving a framework for mitigation and adaptation.
This study, therefore, intends to contribute to the body of knowledge in environmental
planning, by examining the coping mechanism in Ilaje community being a flood prone area
in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria. In an attempt to address these issues, this study, therefore,
addresses the following key questions:

What are the socio-economic characteristics of the residents in the study area?

What are the adaptive mechanism of the residents to flooding and;

What is the environmental condition in Ilaje community?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Study Area and Justification
Ilaje is one of the suburbs of Bariga in Somolu local government area of Lagos state. It is
bounded to the north by Gbagada to the south by Akoka to the west by Bariga and to the east the
3rd mainland bridge it lies between latitude 4N, 14N and longitude 3E, 15E. The area can be
accessed through the St. Finbarrs road by canoe. It is accessible via community road and Lagos
lagoon the community is very close to the coastline of Lagos. The area of Ilaje is 22 hectares and
its perimeter is 3 kilometer. The climate in Ilaje community in Somolu local government is
similar to that of the rest of Southern part of Nigeria. There are two rainy seasons, with the
heaviest rains falling from April to July and a weaker rainy season in October and November.
The topography of the area is generally on low-lying undulating flat landform, but with some
very rugged areas having scarp slopes and gorges. The altitude varies from sea level to about
15metres above sea level in some parts. The major water body in the area is Lagos Lagoon in the
south eastern part of the area. Presently Ilaje is placed among the unplanned area and the land
use is uncontrolled. There are no planned trees or green places but all the places are full of shops,
houses or garbage. The area is often flooded and it is overcrowded and dirty. There is no sewer
system or drainage, this however expose the environment to flooding, hence, the need for
examining the coping mechanism.
Research Design
Population, Sample frame and Sample size
The population of the study area is 26,345 out of which 3,293 is the sample frame this was
estimated by dividing the projected population by the estimated household size given for high
density areas in Lagos state which is 8. The sample size is 3.3% of the sample frame (3,293)
which is 108; the sample size represents the total number of questionnaires to be administered
within the community. Upon reconnaissance survey, a total of 126 streets were found in Ilaje.
The systematic sampling procedure was employed where by the sample frame was divided by
the sample size given a result of 30 .4, therefore every 30th household on each street were
purposively administered.
Analytical methods
Descriptive analytical method was used to analyze socio economic characteristics of the
inhabitant. Thus simple statistical analytical tools like percentages, frequency tables were
adopted in this study.
LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Recent catastrophes have shown that the poor are much more likely to be adversely affected than
the non-poor. Because of the inadequate construction, poor people’s dwellings are particularly
vulnerable; and when affected have insufficient savings to address the emergencies (Nicaragua,
2001). Climate and climate variability are therefore important elements of the complex web of
factors influencing people’s livelihoods. When comparing data on natural hazards in developing
and developed countries, the loss of life, and the number of people affected, tend to be
considerably larger in developing country regions for natural disasters of comparable magnitude.
Bangladesh is a prime example of a country that is particularly vulnerable to climate; floods
affected the country economically with the loss of US $3.3 billion which is equivalent to 8
percent of her GDP. Considering the effects of flood on the lives of the people, in 1998, about 68
percent of the country’s geographical area was flooded, affecting more than 30 million people
and causing 918 fatalities (Choudhury et al 1999). Charveriat (2000) established that in Asia,
about 3.76 billion people were affected by natural disasters between 1970 and 1999 also, the
countries in the regions of Latin America and Caribbean were affected by windstorms,
earthquakes, droughts and floods, however, floods had the highest cumulative cost. The
developing countries of Africa had the second highest number of people affected by natural
disasters, largely due to frequent occurrence and the long term effects of droughts.
World Bank 2001 posited that the potential impacts of climate change on human health would
increase vulnerability and climate change will have both direct and indirect adverse effects on
human health. A direct effect is an increase in temperature-related illnesses and deaths.
Prolonged intense heat waves coupled with humidity may increase mortality and morbidity rates,
particularly among the urban poor and the elderly. Another direct effect will be increased death
and injury from extreme weather events such as flooding, landslides, and storms – over 96
percent of disaster-related deaths in recent years have taken place in developing countries where
most of the people are poor.
The Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
draws on a series of modeling approaches to estimate how climatic parameters might change in
future and set out a range of potential impacts resulting from these changes. The magnitude of
change depends partly on whether society succeeds in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet,
even with strenuous efforts in climate change mitigation, some climate impacts are inevitable.
Over the next 100 years, yearly average near-surface temperatures across the globe are predicted
to rise by between 1.4°C and 5.8°C, causing an increase in flood hazard in some areas because of
sea level rise, changes in seasonal precipitation or the pattern of wind storms (Houghton et al.
2001; McCarthy et al., 2001).
Climate change is making weather less predictable, rains more uncertain and heavy storm
rainfalls more likely. The unpredictability of rainfall is shown both by observations, such as the
large fluctuations in the levels of Lake Victoria in Africa since 1980, and by the experiences of
long-term urban slum residents, who report much more frequent storms producing floods since
1990 (Action Aid International, 2006). Climate models predict that winter rainfall will increase
by 20-30% by the 2080s. Such an increase could lead to a much larger (up to 200%) increase in
flood risk (POST, 2007), the most vulnerable to this effect are the poor who lives in vulnerable
locations such as the Ilaje residents.
Flooding, as one of the most frequent and widespread of all environmental hazards and of
various types and magnitudes, occur in most terrestrial portions of the globe, causing huge
annual losses in terms of damage and disruption to economic livelihoods, businesses,
infrastructure, services and public health. Long term data on natural disasters suggest that floods
and wind storms (which frequently lead to flooding) have been by far the most common causes
of natural disaster worldwide over the past 100 years (Few et al, 2004). According to the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in the 10 years from 1993 to
2002 flood disasters “affected more people across the globe (140 million per year on average)
than all the other natural or technological disasters put together” (IFRC, 2003).
Climate change works in an indirect way to aggravate urban flooding in especially in the African
continent. Droughts and floods in rural areas, such as the African Sahel droughts and major
floods in Mozambique, have forced many rural people to migrate to towns and cities, adding
large new populations to existing slum communities (Action Aid International, 2006). These
rural refugees further add to the urban activities that increase the flow of rainwater to rivers and
thus the intensity of local flooding. With an increasingly urbanizing world, flood disasters are
reportedly increasing in urban areas and particularly negatively impacting on poor people (Alam
et al, 2008) and urban development in general. However urban flood risk research was strongly
influenced by the concept of floods within the natural, rural environment (Zevenbergen, 2007).
Consequently there is a growing need to revisit urban flood risk knowledge with a focus on
understanding the interaction between urban development and urban flood risk (Benjamin,
2007). In this way urban flood risk should also be informed by focusing on the physical,
technological, social, economic and political parameters. Such an understanding should ideally
contribute to appropriate urban flood risk management strategies and policies.
In a statement made by Banire (2011), the:"For the last three years, there has been global
increase in rainfall and water level. So the water level in the lagoon, where this river drains into
is higher. So we have to wait for the lagoon to subside and then this flood can drain," .Though
flooding is not new in Lagos, the experience recently is about the worst in the history of the state.
It has been blamed on relatively high amount of rainfall this year, the opening of Oyan Dam and
more significantly, the rising level of the Atlantic Ocean. Following a personal observation of the
incidence of flood in different parts of Lagos, it has caused massive destruction of property,
economic hardship and the displacement of hundreds of people within some parts of the study
area and other parts of Lagos.
Flood is said to be the most significant effect of climate change on the poor people within this
locality it is caused from increased precipitation therefore destroying infrastructure of roads,
Culverts, drainage systems, houses and water supply which can have knock-on effects on many
parts of the area, damage to healthcare infrastructure will affect the health of the population and
damage to roads can disrupt livelihoods and incomes. Four different types of flooding are
evident: localized flooding due to inadequate drainage; flooding from small streams whose
catchment areas lie almost entirely within the built-up area; flooding from major rivers on whose
banks urban areas are built; and coastal flooding from the sea or through a combination of high
tides and high river flows from inland. Localized flooding occurs many times a year in many
informal settlements such as those in the study area, because there are few drains (or those that
exist are blocked), most of the ground is highly compacted and pathways between dwellings
become streams after heavy rain.
CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Vulnerability Concept
The need for and scale of adaptation reflects the vulnerability of people and natural systems to
disruption from changes that reflect the impacts of climate conditions. Vulnerability is a term
that is used in many different ways, usually describing a condition of susceptibility shaped by
exposure, sensitivity and resilience (Kasperson et al. 1995). For poor people, vulnerability is
both a condition and a determinant of poverty, and refers to the in-ability of people to avoid,
cope with or recover from the harmful impacts of factors that disrupt their lives and that are
beyond their immediate control. This includes the impacts of shocks (sudden changes such as
natural hazards, war or collapsing market prices) and trends (for example, gradual environmental
degradation, oppressive political systems or deteriorating terms of trade). In relation to climate
change, vulnerability relates to direct effects such as more storms, lower rainfall or sea level rises
that lead to displacement and to indirect effects such as lower productivity from changing
ecosystems or disruption to economic systems. With the poor being more directly dependent on
ecosystem services and products for their livelihoods, the vulnerability of natural systems has
profound implications.
Poverty
According to Human Rights Commission’s Report, the concept of poverty can be stated in three
different ways: Firstly, ‘Poverty is a situation in which there is dearth of essential facilities,
resulting from inadequate income’. There is a socially accepted minimum level of living – in
every society. Those who live below this minimum level are said to live in poverty. Secondly; a
failure to meet the basic human needs; or to remain deprived from such needs is a state of
poverty. The basic human needs include not only food, clothing and dwelling, but also health and
education. Shifting the traditional base of fundamental needs & income, and thirdly, the modern
definition of poverty is based on ‘lack of opportunities’. According to the modern connotation,
poverty does not merely mean lack of adequate income or inability to meet basic human needs.
Some people do have a potential to cross the borders of poverty. They have good health and can
live a productive life. But then, they are deprived of suitable opportunities. The tacit denial of
opportunities pushes them into unemployment – resulting in loss of income and finally inability
to meet the basic human needs. Here, the emphasis is shifted from the individual to the
surroundings. The lack of opportunity forbids an individual to insulate him/ her from insecurity.
To be deprived of opportunities, security is to remain in poverty. This is the third way of
defining poverty. Mere inadequate income does not adequately describe poverty. A lack of
opportunity in economic/ political life is the root cause of poverty; and therefore, should not be
neglected while defining poverty.
Coping Mechanism
Coping has been defined in psychological terms by Folkman and Lazarus (1984) as "constantly
changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands
that are appraised as taxing or "exceeding the resources of the person"(Cummings, 1991).
Coping is thus expending conscious effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and
seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress or conflict (Weiten and Lloyd, 2008), coping
mechanisms are commonly termed coping strategies or coping skills. Unconscious or non
conscious strategies (e.g., defense mechanisms) are generally excluded. The term coping
generally refers to adaptive or constructive coping strategies, i.e., the strategies reduce stress
levels. However, some coping strategies can be considered maladaptive, i.e., stress levels
increase. Maladaptive coping can thus be described, in effect, as non-coping. Furthermore, the
term coping generally refers to reactive coping, i.e., the coping response follows the stressor.
This contrasts with proactive coping, in which a coping response aims to head off a future
stressor. Coping responses are partly controlled by personality (habitual traits), but also partly by
the social context, particularly the nature of the stressful environment (Connor-Smith, 2010).
Types
of Coping Mechanism

Weiten and Lloyd (2008) provided a useful summary of three broad types of coping strategies:



appraisal-focused (adaptive cognitive),
problem-focused (adaptive behavioural), and
Emotion-focused.
Appraisal-focused strategies occur when the person modifies the way they think, for example:
employing denial or distancing oneself from the problem. People may alter the way they think
about a problem by altering their goals and values, such as by seeing the humor , Worell (2001).
People using problem-focused strategies try to deal with the cause of their problem. They do this
by finding out information on the problem and learning new skills to manage the problem.
Problem-focused coping is aimed at changing or eliminating the source of the stress. However,
the poor will always look for means out of their problem rather than finding the source. The
issues of effects of climate such as flood are caused majorly as a result of poor attitude of people
to effective drainage system and some other human induced actions.
Emotion-focused strategies involve releasing pent-up emotions, distracting oneself, managing
hostile feelings, meditating or using systematic relaxation procedures. Emotion-focused coping
"is oriented toward managing the emotions that accompany the perception of stress" (Brannon,
2009)
Typically, people use a mixture of all three types of coping strategies, and coping skills will
usually change over time. All these methods can prove useful, but some claim that those using
problem-focused coping strategies will adjust better to life (Taylor, 2006). Problem-focused
coping mechanisms may allow an individual greater perceived control over their problem,
whereas emotion-focused coping may sometimes lead to a reduction in perceived control
(maladaptive coping), this is common among the poor.
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Socio-Economic Characteristics
The character of households is often determined by their income which in turn determines their
class and status in the society, the quality of the house they live in, the food they eat and the
nature of the environment etc. The table below shows that respondent in the community earns a
meager amount as salary. It was obtained that 34.1% earned below N18, 500, 31.9% (N18, 501N22, 500), 6.6% (N22, 501- N30, 500), 4.4% between N30, 501 and N70, 000 and 2% above
N70, 000. This revealed that the study area is notably inhabited by people of low income which
could be classified as urban poor.
Table 1.0 Monthly Income of respondent
Frequency Percent
valid below N18,500
N18,501
–
N22,500
N22,500
–
N30,500
N30,501
N70,500
above N70,500
Total
31
34.1
29
31.9
6
6.6
4
2
91
4.4
2.2
100.0
(Source: Field survey 2011)
The households’ occupation and the result are presented below in table 1.1 below. The study area
is inhabited notably by traders (35.2%) and students (24.2%) and this invariably reflects the
nature of the occupants of the environment.
Table 1.1 Occupation of respondent
Valid Trading
factory
Worker
Fishing
Civil
Servant
Student
Total
Frequency Percent
32
35.2
12
13.2
13
14.3
12
13.2
22
91
24.2
100.0
Source: Author field survey 2011
The table above shows that the majority of the respondents are majorly engaged in trading 35.2%
, 14.25 of them are fisher men, 13.2% of them are factory workers while 13.3% are also civil
servant and 24.2% are students.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION AND FLOODING
Table 1.2 Drainage condition
Frequency Percent
Valid very
4
good
Good
13
Fair
31
Poor
27
very
16
poor
Total
91
Source: Field survey 2011
4.4
14.3
34.1
29.7
17.6
100.0
Waste water channeling is poor in Ilaje due to the fact that most of the roads are mostly ungraded
and untarred thereby causing most of the drains in the housing plots to be channeled directly on
the road. 47.3% of the respondents have poor drainages while 18.7% have good drainage. From
the table below it can be seen that flood often occurs during the raining season in the study area.
From the analysis above, the prevalent is weekly (42.9%) and monthly (40.7%). This, however,
shows that the environment is prone to flood.
Table 1.3: Flood Occurrence
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly
not at
all
Total
Frequency
Percent
39
37
13
42.9
40.7
14.3
2
2.2
91
100.0
Source: Field survey 2011)
ACCESS TO BASIC FACILITIES
Table 1.3: Electricity Supply
Frequency
Regular
Percent
5
5.5
86
94.5
91
100.0
Irregular
Total
Source: Field Survey, 2011
The composition of the electricity supply within the area reveals that 94.5% of the respondents
have irregular power supply with only 5.5% having regular electricity. This clearly shows the
nature of the area as a poor community.
Table 1.4: Health Care
Frequency
Valid Hospital
Clinic
Percent
7
7.7
6
6.6
78
85.7
91
100.0
Medicine
Stores
Total
Source: Field Survey, 2011
The table above indicates that 85.7% of the respondents depend on medicine stores for their
health care, while 7.7% depends on hospital and 6.6% on clinic. This reveals that there is no
adequate healthcare service in the study area.
Table 1.5: Waste Disposal
Frequency
Valid
Percent
Waste Disposal
21
53.8
Burning
34
8.8
Open Dumping
28
28.6
8
8.8
91
100.0
Board
Others
Total
Source: Field Survey, 2011
RESPONDENTS ADAPTIVE CAPACITY
The Coping Mechanism
The type of coping mechanism adopted in the study area could be categorized as problemfocused (adaptive behavioural) mechanism whereby people using problem-focused strategies in
dealing with the cause of their problem. They do this by finding out information on the problem
and learning new skills to manage the problem. Problem-focused coping is aimed at changing or
eliminating the source of the stress. This could be deduced from the response of the respondents
in the table below. 37.4% of the respondents treat various categories of sickness whenever there
is flooding in the area while 34.1% engaged in clearing of drainages so as to allow passage of
run-off water. However, 12% of the respondent relocates for a while or look for other means of
coping till the flooding subsides.
Table 1.6: Adaptive Mechanism
Mechanism
Change of Roof
Clearing of Drainage
Treatment of Sickness
Relocate for a while and
others
Total
Source: Field Survey. 2011
Response
15
31
34
11
Percentage
16.5
34.1
37.4
12
91
100
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The study aimed at assessing the coping mechanism of the urban poor to the effect of climate
change (flooding), it was discovered that after proper analysis of field work the inhabitant of
Ilaje are at a greater risk to flood. This is so because;
Socio-economic standard-; The study reveals that most residents Ilaje exhibit the characteristics
of urban poor with low level of education, low income with larger percentage earn below
N18,500 minimum wage in Nigeria (34.1%), constant struggle for survival and a spatial housing
location with all the characteristics of slums, shanty squatter.
Access to basic facilities-; Reconnaissance survey of the study area reveals that most of the
houses in Ilaje do not have proper access to their houses as most of the roads were in very
horrible conditions with so many pot holes and untarred roads, their water supply also was
relatively fair with most of the people making use of borehole which isn’t totally safe for
drinking and could lead to several diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid cholera, the drainages were
in poor conditions with waste disposal taking a larger percent. This, however, in turn has led to
blockage of drainages, also most of the areas which were close to the river empty their waste
disposal into it.
Flooding and coping mechanism.
Residents in the study area have been found to be more prone to flood on a monthly or weekly
basis during the raining season, they have also been strongly affected by the effect of flood with
majority of their property misplaced during the event also diseases have been recorded as a result
of flood. Some of the coping mechanisms in the area include community effort in evacuating
drainages, individual repairs of dwellings and personal treatment of sickness as a result of flood.
This could be categorized as problem –focused coping mechanism among others.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are suggested;
1)
Public sensitization
Regular public enlightenment or awareness programmes in form of seminars, workshops,
bulletins and advertisements to educate and sensitize the public on the issues of climate change
especially flood as it is the predominant effect of climate change on the urban poor within the
study area, they should also be enlightened on how to properly dispose their waste and
management strategies in order to reduce and curb existing problems and practices via the
community development associations(CDA), community based organizations (CBO), and
nongovernmental organizations (NGO) on the need to balance environmental management with
development
2) Provision of a drainage construction and maintenance plan.
The state government should create a sustained drainage construction and maintenance master
plan that would ensure that drainage constructions and maintenance are scheduled over a period
of time. This will ensure that a regular monitoring process is put in place, and the occurrence of
flooding and associated health problems linked to the stagnancy of water is if not eradicated,
reduced to the barest minimum
3)
Improvement of approval orders of houses
The local government should enforce strict approval order on houses which do not meet the
required standard of the Lagos state physical planning development agency in terms of building
height, airspace, set back and building materials.
Conclusion
The population of metropolitan Lagos is growing rapidly and so also is the urban poor
population in areas at risk to climate change and sea level rise. Despite the environmental
challenge posed by flooding due to storm surges and heavy rainstorms excerbated by urban
development, the vulnerability of the urban poor has not been taken into consideration in urban
planning and development. The study revealed that Ilaje community is vulnerable to flood and
valuables of the residents are being lost severally, therefore much effort should be made by
government to improve their standard of living by providing better drainage system and other
infrastructural facilities.
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REVIEWER’S COMMENT
RESPONSE
Abstract should be revised. the It has been attended to.
first sentence is not necessary
Extensive grammatical editing
required
Many authors cited are not
credited
The key words should be
arranged alphabetically
Introduction
and
research
problem section should be
integrated
The
literature
review/concept/coping
mechanism section is too long
and should be reduced. Only the
most
relevant
information
should be retained
The study gap should be
categorically outlined with the
use of literature to support
assertions. Research questions
should be raised on these issues
which the study will attempt to
address
This has been done
PAGE
1
Reflects on the paper
All author’s cited have been 15
referenced
Corrected
1
This section have been 1-3
integrated
with
relevant
questions raised
Attended to
4-6
Done
The general literature review Handled
section should be refined as it
does not flow as it currently
stands. There is a lot of emphasis
on flood and urban vulnerability,
hence poverty and coping
mechanisms
should
be
contextualized
within
this
framework
The study area review should Adequately attended to
be
moved
to
research
methodology
section
and
discussed briefly in the context
of the research topic
Revise the Methodology in the Done
following order: study area and
justification, Research Design
and
justification;
target
population,
data
collection
2-4
4-6
3
3
methods, sample frame and size,
research
instruments
and
general details, data analysis
techniques
What is the threshold of poverty The bench mark in Nigeria It reflects in the whole paper
adopted for income in the study context is anybody earning
area?
below the minimum wage –N
18,500 and the threshold is
within the purview
Results should be discussed in This has been done
11-14
the following order: Socio
Economic characteristics of
respondents,
general
environmental condition and
flooding patterns in the study
area, respondents vulnerability
to
flooding,
respondents
adaptive mechanisms to flooding
Policy
discussion
, Corrected
recommendation and conclusion
largely do not emanate from
research findings and should be
revised appropriately to address
issues that the study highlighted
The use of pictures is It has been removed
discouraged in academic writing
and should be limited to really
important phenomena that
cannot be adequately captured
with words or the powerpoint
presentation of the study
The references should
updated to APA Compliance
be Corrected
14-16
16
..