FLOOD CRISIS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIVELIHOOD OF PEOPLE IN OGBARU LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Flood is one of the natural disasters that accounts for over 30% of total losses of lives and property. Flood losses reduce the assets of households, communities and societies through the destruction of crops, infrastructure, buildings and loss of life etc. This study examined the impact of flood crisis on the socio-economic livelihood of people in Nigeria, with a specific focus on Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state. Stratified sampling technique was employed whereby each community in the study area constituted a stratum and 5 communities were randomly selected for data collection. It is a survey research in which questionnaire was used for the data collection. The questionnaire was divided into two sections; the first section inquired the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of respondent, while the second section featured a number of response items of four-Likert scale. Data collected was analyzed using the percentage tables and mean statistics. The study established that flood impacted on people’s socio-economic livelihoods and critical aspects such as agriculture, health, education, water, property and assets. It was recommended among other things that government and key stakeholders should assist vulnerable communities/households in order for them to move permanently to higher grounds.