The Impact of Flooding on Social Services in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

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2015-02-13
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Abstract
Floods do occur annually in the Tamale Metropolis flood prone zones. Floods occur when a body of water rises to overflow land which is normally not submerged. The Metropolis flood prone zones are a home to various communities namely Sogunayili, Gbalo, Jisonayili, Gumani and Fuo which were selected for this study. Flooding in the river basin affects life and property in many ways. The causes and socioeconomic impacts of flooding in the Metropolis flood prone zones have been investigated in this research. The cross-sectional research design was used in this study. Primary and secondary data were used. The purposive sampling method was used to choose a good sample to investigate the problem better. Related institutions were also contacted to give their own perspectives of the problem. It was found out that the causes of flooding in the Metropolis flood prone zones are both natural and artificial. Climate change has contributed to the natural cause of flooding through rise in average temperatures and increase in annual and seasonal rainfall at least, over the last twenty-seven years. Rise in temperature and increase in rainfall have led to increases in the discharge of the river with the excess overflowing to inundate the flood plain. The man-made causes of flooding in the Metropolis include poor land use, unplanned development of settlements and indiscriminate disposal of refuse into and on the banks of the river. The socioeconomic impacts of floods in the Metropolis include loss of life and property, disruption of the transport system as well as financial and health problems faced by inhabitants of the zoned areas. From the research, it was established that average temperatures and rainfall have generally been increasing over the last twenty-seven years and the indiscriminate disposal of refuse into and on the banks of the river have led to the annual floods in the Metropolis. Also, the actions and inactions of concerned institutions have encouraged the haphazard development of settlements in the zoned areas. The resettlement of communities in the 5 zoned areas and the enforcement of laws which protect the environment and its inhabitants as well as the proper disposal of refuse are recommended solutions to the problem.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science,
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