**4. Causes of persistent flood activity in Akili Ogidi community**

Unarguably, flooding events are aggravated by changing climate and it requires emergency rescue and rehabilitation of affected population and communities, because of the high level of accompanying morbidity. For example, the Nigeria Displacement Report of 2013 reported that about 4,189,650 people suffered from food insecurity, 3,883,215 people were targeted for malnutrition challenges, and 194, 859 were harbored in IDPS from floods. Clearly, climate change is fast becoming in Nigeria a major driver of human displacement. According to International Red Cross [23], more people will be displaced from weather-related and climatic events than war (http://www.icrc.org/en/document/internally-displaced-people). Climate-driven displacement, environmental migrants, or climate migrants come with adverse effects from climate persecution and violence to temporary displacements sequel to flooding, which has been prevalent for over 10 years in Anambra state. Climatedriven temporary displacement is a previous situation in Anambra-riverine communities annually as people flee from flood disasters to become displaced and can be stranded inside their own communities. Here, the floods have been extreme, particularly the flood events of 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, and 2020 [24–29].

Key informant interviews reveal important insights on the major causes that contribute to the (re)occurring floods in the study area, and our findings are

consistent with the past flooding events. Firstly, the community occupies a vast wet area that lies in the SouthWest part of Anambra state, at the bank of River Niger, which is a fragile and flood prone area with heavy rainfalls during the wet season. The flooding leads to a rise in water levels of River Niger, adjoining creeks, and ponds overflowing into the community. The leader for the women group described the anxiety and despair they face as the wet season ensues:

*… The rainy season come with heavy storms and floods that threaten our lives, we are left with no choice than to face the harsh conditions it bring. You know that our community is facing the River Niger. We have accepted our fate that our problems are locational. This is worse because we have little help and assistance.*

One of the male interviewees who emphasized that, apart from the floods of 2012, it was majorly influenced by the mismanagement of dams and water reservoirs in Nigeria and our neighboring countries. Undoubtedly, subsequent floods have been sourced from the overflow of the banks of River Niger. According to the elder (male):

*… this makes our community vulnerable to flood occurrences annually during the wet season, and to flood and disaster. our people will always migrate within the state in search of safe locations and the experience brings diverse devastating consequences.*

Ajaero and Mozie [30] reported that Ogbaru LGA is continually impacted by the floods due to the low and flat nature of the area. Ogbaru LGA slopes at angle of 1°–3°. The relative low disposition of Ogbaru land makes the area to be continually flooded for longer than 6 months, and our study site is situated where the River Niger has its highest discharge rates. The overflowing river bank affects the superimposed plain land, which is one of the main geographic characteristics of Ogbaru, particularly Akili Ogidi. The people of Akili Ogidi live in the "hotspot" flood region facing limited resources and support to adapt to an increasingly hostile environment. Notably, in 2012 and 2018, NEMA [31] declared Anambra state a flood disaster region twice [32].

Additionally, the community Chief informed us that there have been elongated noticeable changes in the weather pattern indicating rising rainfall intensity, frequency, and increased destruction occurring in the past 10 years in the community:

*… there are clear changes in the weather. We have noticed this over time, especially as the onset as our wet season now come early, stays longer. sometimes it is irregular and the rains are heavy making us to be inactive as our community is flooded.*

Clearly, the location of the state and its changing climate have added to the reoccurring and increased flood status of the state. Mgbenu and Egbueri [13] confirmed in their study that Ogbaru LGA is dominated by shallow aquifers of about 25 m above sea level with a tropical climate that is characterized by high precipitation averaging between about 1800 and 2300 mm. Notably, Akanwa and Ezeomedo [17] affirmed that additionally unpredictable weather conditions have aggravated the high precipitation levels in the area resulting in increased flooding and erosional problems traceable to variable timing and intensity of rainfall from the changing climate in Anambra State. Further, Nzoiwu et al. [33] also reported about noticeable *Climate-Driven Temporary Displacement of Women and Children in Anambra State, Nigeria… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104817*

changes in climate causing a gradual shift in the rainy seasons such that the rainfall season has extended beyond June to September to the months of October and November. For the dry seasons, the months have extended from December to March. Unfortunately, these changes were proven by the report provided by NEMA [31] that Anambra state is affected by a vast range of hydro-meteorological and climatological hazardous changes, such as storms and temperatures as the State is situated by the river Niger making it flood prone.
