Identification of Reasons for and Socio-Economic Impacts of Persistent Floods in Dar Es Salaam

Abstract

This paper identifies and discusses reasons for persistent flooding events in the city of Dar es Salam. The paper also discusses socio-economic impacts caused by such flooding events. Descriptive research design guided the study. A questionnaire was administered to a sample population to collect numerical data while in-depth interviews were employed to collect qualitative information. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze data from the questionnaire whereas qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings show that topography, unplanned settlements, poor infrastructure to support rapid urbanization, poor institutional capacity, failure of local authorities to enforce land policies and legislation, centralization of land use planning, poverty, and lack of awareness are the main causes of persistent flooding events in the study area. The paper further identifies that destroyed businesses, properties damage, increased number of dependents, increased number of orphans, families separation, increased incidents of eruptional diseases, increased crime rate and increased immorality and people being subjected into deep poverty are some of the impacts of persistent floods in Dar es Salaam. The paper suggests that there should be efforts directed towards ensuring that policies are well implemented and legislation enforced in the interest of proper environmental management and sustainable development of the city.