Assessing the Incidence of Floods and Social Vulnerability to Flooding in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region, Ghana

Abstract

The growing incidence of floods and its devastating impacts across the globe and all sectors is widely acknowledged. The dominant explanation for this trend is climate change and rapid urbanisation. Whilst some scholars are explicit about the causes and the devastating effects of floods, suboptimal representation is made on the incidence of flood and social vulnerability to flood. This study examined the effects of flooding and how vulnerability to flooding is socially differentiated in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach, the study employed focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a survey involving 270 participants from selected communities in the Wa Municipality. The study revealed increasing incidence of flooding in the Wa Municipality and that this phenomenon is largely caused by inadequate drainage infrastructure and systems, inappropriate management of waste and poor planning of buildings. The major impacts of flooding include destruction of residential buildings, road infrastructure injury and disruption of household livelihoods. The findings also showed that households that are located within the 300m buffer zones are more vulnerable to flooding compared to those located on highlands. Furthermore, the study revealed that vulnerability to flooding varied among social groups with children being the most vulnerable, followed by women, the aged, the physically challenged and men, in that order. The study recommends that adaptation planning to flood through the local government system should prioritize and or target households settled along flood-prone riverbanks in the municipality with a special focus on children and women, the aged, and the physically challenged for achieving inclusiveness and sustainability in adaptation capacity.