Mapping and Geo - Visualisation of Flood Susceptible Administrative States in Nigeria: A Terrain Modeling Approach

This study considered morphological characteristics such as plateau, highland, lowland, simple slope, and/or flatland as major determinants aside from other elements such as soil, land cover, and human activities. This study utilized spatial query and Digital Elevation Modeling developed from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission to identify administrative states in Nigeria that are most vulnerable to flood. This study revealed that Ekiti State is the only administrative state that is far less susceptible to flood in the southwest. Also, Jos in the plateau state in the north center was found to be far less vulnerable, with similar observation for Gembu in Sardauna Local Government Area in Taraba. Toungo, Ganye, Madagali, and Michika Local Government Areas of Adamawa State are also far less vulnerable to flood. This study also revealed that all the administrative states in the south-south geo-political zone and areas along Niger -Benue Syncline were observed to be highly vulnerable to flood while most of the administrative states in North East and North West are only prone to flood in the case of extreme rainfall events. This study recommends that a buffer dam should be constructed along the Benue River to absorb excessive water coming from any source. Also, dredging of River Niger and Benue's tributaries should be considered to accommodate a large volume of water, and adequate standard setbacks along all the rivers in Nigeria should be implemented to discourage erecting structures along the floodplain.