Flood Disaster and Human Security in Benin Niger River Valley

Abstract

Despite the complexity of risk assessment and human security, they must be assessed to improve knowledge about the risk and its potential human consequences in order to help society to better understand the risks which it faces. This thesis aimed to improve understanding of flood disaster causative factors, risk profile of the affected community and human security issues in Benin Niger River Valley. A GIS-Base mapping and theory-driven indicator approach is applied to map the risk profile of the affected community and analyse the human insecurity dimension related to it. The result indicates that people living within the Benin Niger River Valley are highly exposed to flood hazard because almost eighty percent (80%) of its people and their assets are located in the flood hazard pathway. All physical, economic, social and vulnerability indicators chosen in the framework of this study show that they are highly vulnerable. The combination of the flood hazard event, the exposure and the vulnerabilities to flood yield in high disaster risk. Flood disasters result in deaths, injuries, diseases, building collapses, disruption in socio-economic activities, environmental pollution and biodiversity losses. Cleary, flood disasters generate, humane insecurity.