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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. REFERENCES ActionAid International (2006) “Climate change, urban flooding and the rights of the urban poor in Africa: Key findings from six African cities”. (Available on http://www.actionaid.org/docs/urban%20flooding%20africa%20report.pdf Accessed 12/03/2008) Alam, K., Herson, M., O‟Donnel, I. (2008) Flood Disasters: Learning from Previous Relief and Recovery Operations. Prevention Consortium and ALNAP Brannon, L. and Feist, J. (2009) Health Psychology Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 7th ed. Pp. 121 . Banire, M. (2011) in Idowu, E.O (2011) “Effect of Climate Change (Flood) on Housing for the urban poor in Ilaje Somolu Local Government”, Unpublished B.Sc. Dissertation, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos. Charvériat, C., 2000. Natural Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Overview of Risk. Inter-American Development Bank Working Paper 434. Cummings E. M. et. al. (1991) Life-span Developmental ,Psychology Pp. 92 Connnor-Smith, J (2010) “Personality and Coping “ Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 61, pp. 679-704 Lazarus RS, Folkman S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York: Springer Few, R., Ahern, M., Matthies, F., and Kovats, S. (2004) “Floods, health and climate change: A strategic review” Tyndall Centre Working Paper No. 63. Houghton, J.N, Ding, Y., Griggs, D., Nouger, M., van der Linden, P., Dai, X., Maskell, K., and Johnson, C. (eds) (2001) “Climate Change 2001: Scientific Basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge IFRC, 2003: World Disaster Report 2003 (Geneva: IFRCRCS); at: <www.ifrc.org>. Pp 11. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2001) Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, summary issue in rural development. Development Policy Review, 19 (4): 507-519. Kasperson et al. (2001) ‘Research and Assessment Systems for Sustainability: Framework for Vulnerability”, The George Perkins Marsh Institute at Clark University and The Stockholm Environment Institute. Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project 2006 Lazarus R. S. & Folkman S (1984), Stress, Appraisal, and Coping p.141. McCarthy, J.J., O.F. Canziani, N.A. Leary, D.J. Dokken and K.S. White (eds.) (2001) Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1032 pp. Munich Re Topics (2002): Natural catastrophes in 2002. Review McGranahan, G. Balk, D., and Anderson, B. (2007). “The rising tide: assessing the risks of climate change and human settlements in low elevation coastal zones”. Environment and Urbanization 19, 17- 37. Outcome Assessment of Swedish cooperation with NICARAGUA 2001- 2008 (Part of Exit Project Nicaragua) 2009-12-15 Nils Öström and Elisabeth Lewin eds. Smith, K. (1996). Environmental Hazards. Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster. London, Routledge. Smith, K. and Ward, R. (1998) Floods Physical Processes and Human Impact; Published by John & Wiley and son Ltd. Conneil, Bangkok, Thailand. Postnote (2007). Urban Flooding Number 289 Page 2 July, 2007 Parker, G., M. H. Garcia, Y. Fukushima, and W. Yu, 1987, Experiments on turbidity currents over an erodible bed., Journal of Hydraulic Research, 25(1), 123-147 Taylor, S.E. (2006). Health Psychology, international edition. McGraw-Hill Education, pg. 193 UN-International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) (2008) “Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Risk Management Practices: Critical Elements for Adaptation to Climate Change” Submission to the UNFCCC Adhoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action. Available at: www.unisdr.org/.../riskreduction/climatechange/.../ IASCISDR_paper_cc_and_DDR.pdf (Accessed 16 Oct. 2011). Weiten, W. & Lloyd, M.A. (2008) Psychology Applied to Modern Life (9th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Worell J. (2001), Encyclopedia of Women and Gender Vol I p. 603 World Bank (2001). World Bank Development Indicators. Washington DC, World Bank Zevenbergen, C. (2007) Adapting To Change: Towards Flood Resilient Cities. Inaugral Address by Chris Zevenbergen in Delft, The Netherlands, December 14, 2007. UNESCO-IHE (Institute for Water Education) 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 ..