A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF THE EFFECTS OF FLOODING ON YENAGOA METROPOLIS, 1996 – 2022

Abstract

This work, examines, from a historical perspective, the effects of flooding on Yenagoa. A number of studies on the effects of flooding on Yenagoa metropolis have been conducted by scholars from the physical and life sciences, but not much has been done from a historical perspective. This work is an attempt to fill this gap and to show that the study of environmental history can be a vital tool in addressing environmental challenges such as flooding. Both oral and written sources were utilised in the work. The oral sources were majorly accounts of informants who had witnessed the devastating effects of floods in the city, while the written sources include internet sources, textbooks, articles in journals and government papers as well as diagrams and maps for better illustration of facts and the geographical depiction of the study area. The work identifies increased agricultural devastation, wildlife disappearance, erosion and sedimentation problems, socio-economic losses as well as diseases outbreak as some of the challenges posed by flooding in the city. To allay any existing doubts, more studies are needed.