Suitability Analysis of Resettlement Sites for Flood Disaster Victims in Lokoja and Environs

摘要

The purpose of this study is to identify suitable sites for resettlement of flood disaster victims in Lokoja environs using Remote Sensing and GIS. The bio-physical and socio-economic factors used for evaluation of environmental suitability of the resettlement site are land use/land cover, slope, elevation and nearness to road. Land use/land cover information were extracted from NigeriaSatl image of 2007, contours and drainage information were extracted from Sheet 246 & 247 of the Nigeria Topographic Map Series of 1963 while road networks were extracted from the Geo-Eye images. By analyzing the information extracted, weights were assigned to the information based on their suitability for human settlement. Weighted overlay techniques were then applied to derive a flood resettlement suitability map. The individual analysis of these factors indicated that 82.78% of the study area has a gentle slope (lowland) while 17.22% of the area is found to be highland which is hilly and steepy. In terms of land use/land cover, 75.15% of the study area is suitable such as forest and rock outcrop while 24.85% representing built-up, water body, sand deposits and wetland are not suitable and cannot be recommended for settlement. The result showed that about 3/4 of the study area is not suitable for human resettlement while a minimal 10.62% is suitable having an area of 2564.44ha with 5 locations (4.14%) out of the suitable sites having a continuous area of more than 100ha. Therefore before planning and implementing any resettlement program, environmental suitability, ecological carrying capacity and sustainability of the area has to be analyzed thoroughly.