An assessment of the Application of Information and Communication technology in early warning System for Flooding in Nigeria.
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Date
2015
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
The study assessed the types and state of ICT infrastructure in the relevant agencies in meeting the challenges of predicting and responding to flood disaster, examined the extent of usage of ICT to link the relevant agencies and the residents of areas prone to flood disaster and evaluated the impact of ICT in providing an effective framework for linkages among the relevant agencies responsible for flood disaster. This was with a view to providing information on the proper use of ICT in reducing the impact of flood disaster in Nigeria.
The study was conducted in agencies located in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states. The first set of questionnaire was administered on Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) which elicited information on the types, adequacy and condition of essential ICT equipment used for monitoring and predicting weather. The second set was administered on National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the constituting bodies of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) which elicited information on the ICT equipment used in disseminating information on impending flood disaster. The third set was administered on selected residents of areas prone to flood disaster. Data was analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics.
The study showed that equipment such as Mobile Phones and Amateur/community radio were functioning to capacity. Others including the agencies’ intranet, IP Phone Systems, Emergency Communication Vans, NEMA communication center, High Frequency Radio, Mobile Satellite Systems were not functioning to capacity while VSAT was not functioning at all. The extent of usage of equipment measured on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = never used and 3 = frequently used) showed that equipment such as mobile phones (2.8) and Computer Networks (2.8), were frequently used while Megaphones (2.28), Internet (2.28) and NEMA communication center (1.72) among others were occasionally used. Others such as Real-time Video Transmission (0.72), Amateur/Community Radio (0.84) and IP phone system (0.64) were rarely used. The study revealed the preferred channel for flood warnings of residents of flood prone areas. About 66% preferred Short Message Service (SMS), 7.7%, 14.6%, 1.5%, 8.5% and 0.8% preferred Radio, Voice call, internet/phone, Television and internet respectively. The impact of ICT in providing an effective framework for linkages among the relevant agencies responsible for flood disaster was measured by timeliness of response of the agencies to flood disaster. Thirty-six percent of the victims indicated that it took1-3 days for the agencies to respond, while 12% claimed it took less than 24 hours, 12% indicated 7-12 hours and another 12% reported 1-6 hours and 28% declared that it took less than an hour.
The study concluded that the state of ICT infrastructure for predicting flood disaster was acceptable and that the most potent ICT tool used in mobilizing the agencies in responding to flood disaster was mobile phone.
Description
xiii,123
Keywords
ICT, NEMA, SEMA, NIMET, Nigeira, system for flooding
Citation
Adibe,J.N(2015).An assessment of the Application of Information and Communication technology in early warning System for Flooding in Nigeria.Obafemi Awolowo University.