THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN FLOOD EARLY WARNINGS AND RESIDENTS' RESPONSE IN REDUCING VULNERABILITY TO DISASTER: THE AKURE EXPERIENCE

Abstract This study examined the missing link between Flood Early Warnings (FEWs) and residents’ response at reducing their vulnerability to flood disasters the flood prone areas of Akure, Ondo State Nigeria. It identified sources and frequency of receiving FEWs by the residents during rainy and dry seasons; means and frequency of communicating FEWs during both dry and rainy seasons by the agencies; languages of communicating FEWs by the agencies; residents’ satisfaction with the sources and means of flood early warnings; and resident’s response before and after FEWs. The study utilised survey approach through structured questionnaire administered on the residents. There were 30 areas identified as flood prone areas due to frequent flood occurrence, out of 7 were selected through purposive sampling due to frequency and intensity of flood experience. A total of 156 (20%) buildings were sampled where a respondent was surveyed out of 779 building identified in the 7 selected flood prone areas. Findings revealed that Ondo State Emergency Management Agency (ODSEMA) and Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET) were major sources of receiving FEWs at both seasons. Local radio stations and television were common as means of receiving FEWs by the residents at both seasons, and mostly received once in a year. Conversely, official websites and social media platforms were mostly utilised means of issuing FEWs by the agencies, thus revealing a gap in communicating between the residents and statutory agencies responsible for issuing FEWs. It was further observed that majority of the residents were not satisfied with the means and frequency of receiving FEWs, which reflected in their preparedness activities whereby there was no significant improvement both before and after receiving the warnings. The study concluded that inherent benefits in FEWs towards reduction in vulnerability to flood disaster risk could not be harnessed due to observed gap in communicating warnings between the agencies and residents.